There was an artist I had a soft spot for. I won't say their name, though some of you might know who I mean.
They were making a living through other work, but never put the pen down. They kept drawing, and had finally started to see a little light.
Then One Day
Someone trained AI on their art, and it reproduced that artist's style. In an instant.
Of course, parts of it were rough. But a style built over years had been reproduced by AI in an instant.
Putting the Pen Down
That artist announced they would stop drawing.
If I had been in their place, it would have hit me hard too. To finally start seeing the light, only to watch your own style reproduced in an instant.
Could I keep drawing? Could I answer why I should keep drawing at all?
It Left Me Thinking
Thankfully, that artist came back. But after that, I found myself thinking about it a lot more.
I couldn't simply say AI art was bad. As I wrote in the previous post, AI had also brought back things I thought I would never see again.
But it was also true that it had made someone put down their pen. Both things were true.
That made it more complicated.
Because you can't split it neatly into good or bad. That's the hardest part.