My friend showed me an AI picture he called 'art' and it made me feel weird

We were just hanging out at his place last Tuesday, and he pulled up this image on his laptop he made with one of those AI art tools. It was a picture of a knight in a forest, but the armor looked kind of melted and the trees had weird faces. He was really proud of it, said it took him ten minutes. I told him it was cool, but then he said, 'Yeah, I'm basically an artist now.' He was joking, I think, but it stuck with me. It felt like he skipped the whole part where you learn to draw or paint for years. Is it fair to call something you just typed words into 'your art'? I don't know. It's neat, but it feels different from someone who actually makes the lines and colors. Has anyone else had a talk like this that made you question what art even is?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_bailey2mo ago

My cousin said the same thing last month.

the_drew2mo ago

Ugh, I get that. Typed "epic sunset" into a bot once and felt like a fraud for a week. It's like the difference between baking a cake from a box mix and growing the wheat yourself. You didn't pick the brush or make the stroke. The computer did the hard part. @phoenix_bailey's cousin gets it. My friend did the same thing with a picture of a "cyberpunk cat." Called it his masterpiece. It's cool, but it's not the same as putting in the time. Makes my old stick figures feel weirdly more honest.

jessica7072mo ago

My friend in Austin felt the same way after using a prompt for a portrait. I get what @phoenix_bailey's cousin means about that weird, hollow feeling.