I’ve spent my life pursuing art and writing, learning about art and writing, and creating art and writing. Except for a few years working as a personal assistant, every cent I’ve earned as an adult can be attributed to my skills as an artist or writer.

But we recently entered the age of AI-generated art and writing.

My artsy and writerly squads have been abuzz about this development. They’ve mostly split into two groups: those terrified of what AI means for our livelihood and those who don’t feel threatened. Some have even embraced AI-generated art/writing as a part of their craft.

Meanwhile, my non-artist/writer fam have either been sending me memes or entering long discussions about AI stealing my purpose in society. And it’s a doozy.

Once upon a time, we didn’t believe machines could be capable of creativity, but here we are. So, let’s discuss.

AI-Generated Writing

This topic scares me. Not because I’m afraid the machine will create better books than I can; considering its access to almost every written work since the dawn of time, I’m pretty sure it already out-writes the best of us.

But despite a vast library of examples at its proverbial fingertips, AI doesn’t always generate masterpieces. Sometimes, it creates walls of nonsensical text instead.

Indie authors are notorious for publishing unreadable slush. Unfortunately, this infamy is valid sometimes, but we don’t all publish low-quality work. To stand any chance of notice, we often polish our manuscripts to much higher standards than popular traditionally-published books. We’re fighting the bias against self-publishing and the steady influx of cringey work made possible by easy publishing procedures.

Now that AI generates words at the click of a button, the volume of self-published books has erupted. In June, AI-written books dominated the bestseller lists on Amazon. On one of these occasions, only 19 of the 100 books were legit (as tweeted by Caitlyn Lynch).

In August, author Jane Friedman discovered AI-generated works published under her name, which opened another can of worms. Her blog posts are widely available, allowing the AI to closely match her voice and style, fooling fans into purchasing these fake books. And even though Amazon and Goodreads have since removed the books, both the author and the reader were hurt.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post published this article about AI-generated blog posts and non-fiction works. I shudder to consider the effect of even more unvetted information floating around the internet.

As an author and blogger, I do feel threatened by AI-generated works.

I’m a one-woman show. I create everything you see on this website, from logos to banners to text. Once in a while, I might include a photo my husband snapped or use a free pic from Canva, but other than that, every photo featured on the blog is one I took. Each post I publish requires hours to research, write, and edit. Days if it’s a photo tutorial. But I pride myself in posting the best content I can at any given time.

And novels ask even more. Even at the height of hyperfocus, writing a book takes months. So does editing. I have a literal team of people who help shape my manuscripts into something I feel proud enough to share with the world.

AI can generate all of the above and more in minutes.

I can’t compete with the machine for an income. It is faster than I am, doesn’t take breaks, its mental health is stable, and it doesn’t require payment. It doesn’t spend years developing its unique style because it can throw together something suitable for any genre or mimic the tone and style of other writers as the need arises. Plus, access to hundreds of spell checkers eliminates multiple rounds of edits.

And I am only human.

That said, I have heart. I can feel every zero and one the AI can only imitate. I don’t smash out stories or blog posts just for content’s sake—I write because I want to connect with people. The stories we share, those characters or moments that speak to us, become threads that bind us. No matter how polarised we might be, there is common ground in fandoms, our loves and loathes, and is a reminder that we’re all just people looking for answers.

So, with or without the AI, I’ll keep writing. I might just need to fight a bit harder for my craft.

AI-Generated Art

Some AI-generated art is beautiful. The level of detail is staggering, the use of colour is spot-on, and the added effects can transform an image from a cartoon to a Michelangelo-style painting in seconds. Sometimes, it’s almost impossible to tell that a machine made it.

Other times? Well. 🤣 I’ve seen my share of hands sprouting from shoulders, faces with multiple noses, flying butts, and other mistakes the AI couldn’t see.

But let’s take a step back. How does the machine generate art?

According to Interesting Engineering, AI generators rely on databases of images to teach its algorithms how to make similar images (AKA machine learning). Through referencing, the AI can find patterns and similar features (focal points, brush strokes, subject matter, etc.) and generate images according to the user’s input.

In other words, the AI scrapes the internet for photos, videos, and other artworks before it creates anything. And I use the word ‘create’ loosely here. The algorithm isn’t capable of more than blending or repeating images until they look like something new.

Meanwhile, every scraped image or video ends up in a database. If it exists on the internet, chances are it’s already in such a database (including, for example, everything I’ve ever posted on my blog).

So, let us open another can of worms, shall we?

The fact that artists hold intellectual property rights is all we have. Sadly, most artists don’t even realise the content they’ve been posting online has probably ended up in machine learning databases.

In some cases, AI art generators reference popular artists by name—without the artist’s permission. Some art generators charge users a fee to access their service yet don’t compensate the original artists for using their work. But while artists have banded together to sue the companies behind AI-generated art, this story probably won’t end happily.

And you don’t have to be a household name to be impacted by this issue. Julia Bausenhardt writes about how her art was stolen in this post. And though she was able to remove her images from one database, others don’t allow artists to reclaim their works.

We could debate the morality of AI-generated art for days without reaching a consensus. I honestly don’t know how to feel about it. One moment I’m like ‘let the thing create’, but the next, I can’t stop shuddering.

No matter how we spin it, AI art generators will claim potential customers. Bespoke art is a luxury not everyone can afford, and empty pockets gravitate towards free stuff. As for the rest, if AI generators claim potential clients promising to ‘pay in exposure’ or those who disappear without settling their debt, only clients who value art remain.

Real art can never be replaced, right?

At least, I hope so.

To test this theory, I challenged Bing’s integrated AI generator (Dall-E) to create work similar to one of my illustrations.

My daughter had this dream of playing with a fox kit, then falling asleep on the bank of a lake we visited a few times last summer, and it was too cute not to draw. I sketched and coloured in Adobe Fresco (which took about 6 hours) and added lighting effects in Adobe Photoshop.

I asked Bing’s chat bot to: ‘create an image of a little girl with red hair sleeping on the grass next to a lake with fireflies and a fox kit sleeping next to her’. It generated these images within 15 seconds.

Next, the chatbot offered me the option to ‘add more animals’, and I accepted. This time, it generated a dozen images in less than 5 seconds. And it added animals, all right. Otters, birds, ducks, deer, rabbits, and more. The little girl gained a fox tail or ears in some of the images, or was completely covered in fur in others. Additionally, the style changed. Some of the pictures were anime-esque, while others resembled children’s book illustrations. But because the style had grown more distinct, I decided not to include those images in this post.

I can tell you one thing, though. The speed and increasing accuracy with which the machine generated images to match my prompts really freaked me out.

So, of course, I had to give ChatGPT the same prompt and see what it would deliver. You know, for giggles. It wrote this little story:

I’m sorry, but as a text-based AI, I’m unable to create visual images or drawings. However, I can certainly help you visualize the scene with words:

Beneath the twinkling night sky, a serene and magical scene unfolds. A small lake glistens in the moonlight, its surface reflecting the stars above. The soft rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of crickets create a soothing symphony of nature’s lullaby.

At the edge of the lake, nestled among the lush, green grass, lies a young girl with fiery red hair. She’s peacefully asleep, her chest rising and falling gently with each breath. Her face carries an expression of contentment, as if she’s dreaming of the wonders of the world.

Nearby, a curious fox kit has also found a cozy spot to rest. The fox kit’s fluffy, russet fur contrasts beautifully with the verdant grass. It curls up comfortably beside the sleeping girl, its tail wrapped neatly around its body. The little fox’s eyes are closed in slumber, mirroring the girl’s peaceful state.

Hovering above the grass and the girl are fireflies, their soft and enchanting glow creating a celestial atmosphere. Their gentle illumination dances in the night air, casting a warm and ethereal light upon the scene.

Together, the sleeping girl, the fox kit, and the fireflies create a picture of tranquility and harmony, capturing a moment of connection between nature and dreams.

Courtesy of ChatGPT, as a result of the prompt ‘create an image of a little girl with red hair sleeping on the grass next to a lake with fireflies and a fox kit sleeping next to her’

And now, I’m left to ponder the question, how long until I’m a living redundancy?

Please, folks. Do your local artists and writers a massive favour and support their work. The pandemic proved how valuable we are, yet we’re still one of the most underappreciated communities out there.

The machine can’t do what we do. Please don’t let it replace us.

Yolandie