Is Text-to-Image AI Empowering the Creator Economy or Dooming it?
I recently heard about this noisy kerfuffle in the art industry. A famous painter used new technology to create photo-realistic artwork. Many experts argued that it wasn’t “real” art and that the painter had somehow cheated.
This was, of course, the legendary Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, during the mid to late 17th century. The controversy was this: did Vermeer use “advanced technology” in the form of mirrors or lenses to get that light gradient just right? If he did, does that mean he cheated, or that his canvases are somehow less his creations?
Nowadays, everyone considers Vermeer not only an artist, but a genius — regardless of whether he used that “technology” or not. Perhaps even because of it. He pushed forwards the bounds of what was possible for humans to create.
Astute readers will remember my article’s title and guess that I’m using Vermeer to lead up to my thesis: that all the hubbub about AI text-to-image engines stealing the jobs of creatives is about as justifiable as canceling Vermeer for using then-rare technology to create his masterpieces.
Now, using lenses to guide brushwork isn’t quite the same thing as using text prompts to get an engine to paint something in someone else’s style. However, it’s still a useful analogy to see how…
