AI…or Else?

On AI, Photography, and Creative Work

Recently, there’s been much talk about using AI, incorporating AI in our creative work, and the copyright issues that can follow. Many Big Tech companies are already using AI at a fast, furious, and sometimes (seemingly) frightening pace. And they’re not the only ones.

Nowadays, there’s always an AI-related story that makes the headlines: robots writing articles, taking pictures (no, I wouldn’t say “make” pictures, not just yet, anyway) and even winning photo contests, and so on.

So, what are human creatives to do?

When I started freelancing, many years ago, I was given plenty of tips, some more useful than others:

• create for free (or “for credit”); or charge next to nothing, if you dare think your work is good enough to charge money for, in the first place
• stay in your lane and be patient
• write what you know

There are multiple issues with each and every one of these “tips.”

Working “for free” doesn’t usually bring in paid work, but rather more “free” work. And how are creatives expected to pay their bills with credits?

Be patient? Again, it does make sense, to a certain point. Most creatives have to pay their dues and learn, find and develop a voice (an artist voice, that is), build a portfolio, and so on. But if they’re told over and over and over again to “be patient” and made believe that they’re not quite good enough…to get paid for their work or featured or whatnot, then they’re pushed, shoved down a rabbit hole, an endless down-road spiral meant to drag them into a wrong and dangerous direction…and out of the competition.

And then there’s the matter of ageism. If, as a creative, you’re “patient” for too long, you’ll find out that when you’re experienced, knowledgable, and good enough to have your work finally featured, some are looking for young and fresh voices. And yet, when you were a “young and fresh voice” they didn’t bother with you, rather told you to be patient and wait….

Write what you know? “What you know” is a starting point, but I’d say, write what you’re interested in or are drawn to. Use that as a source of inspiration! Research it, write about it, photograph it, reimagine it, or make art inspired by it. And in the process, learn, evolve, and grow as a creative. You might even discover other sources of inspiration. Other ideals, goals, and dreams that you yearn to reach, at least through your artwork.

And now, when creatives reach the point where they feel comfortable charging what they’re worth, when they’re sought after, and made a name for themselves, now, comes AI to take it all away, in a heartbeat and with no remorse.

I know, I know, we can use AI as a tool in our creative work (think the Adobe Photoshop Neural filters, for one), and much more. But that’s not it. It barely scratches the surface. There are recent reports about AI starting to take on more and more jobs that humans used to do, and not only in the creative realm. And this is only the beginning.

I wonder sometimes if an AI-created artwork can have a soul, or if a soul can be artificially recreated, cloned, or copied. That’s because the artwork that humans create reflects, at least in part, a facet of the artist’s voice and personality, and becomes a window into the artist’s soul. So, how about the art that AI creates?

And also: Can, itself, AI have a soul? And whose soul would AI clone and make its own? Why?

It seems that we’re living in a strange world that’s getting stranger by the minute.

I wonder, what do you think about AI? What’s your take on it?

Please feel free to leave a comment below and share your thoughts. There’s no right or wrong answer. I’d just love to hear from you.

As always, thanks for stopping by,

Alina Oswald