The use of Artificial Intelligence for homework and math problems is one thing, but the abuse of this technology for creative work is another.
AI has been the topic of debate for many years, slowly working its way further and further into the spotlight. Some see it as a shortcut when they should be learning and others as a way to bring their imaginations to life without putting in the work that artists do. To an extent, this technology could be acceptable for making mundane tasks more efficient, but we can already see how this newfound ‘efficiency’ is being applied to tasks meant to take time and effort.
Artists, people who have spent years of their lives honing their skills to turn them into a profitable trade, are seeing their livelihoods being threatened by AI. But art, from writing to painting, poetry to photography, is more than a money-making must-do. Art is something that makes us uniquely human. Hand prints and stick figures on cave walls, the Mona Lisa, and the doodles in my notebook all show the progression of human creativity and desire to express and reflect the world around us. This trait is something that arguably makes humans stand out from the rest of Earth’s life.
We are on the road towards a human creation devaluing a trait that humans have prided themselves on for so long. This technology, able to simplify the complicated and cut back on the basics, has the possibility to make us primitive again. It would be ironic, and a good lesson, but undeserved by the many who are against it.
AI is a reflection of the impact Capitalism has on the human spirit. In a world where you must be an entrepreneur or a businessman, where inflation and media normalize the lack of human spirit and passion in many workforces, the foundations of creativity itself are being monetized. AI is writing both news articles and fictional stories alike. Artists are referencing AI and are pretending that AI-generated work is their own. Technology without any experience with emotion is being used to portray the human struggle and the intellect of humanity. History and Art are more than fact, more than a chain of events or numbers on a screen. They are seen uniquely by every single person who views them, and shape our perception of the present. As the lines between human and machine blur, as AI becomes more undetectable and widely used, the more of a threat it becomes to our expression and knowledge.