I think the greatest injustice in this world is that Vincent
Van Gogh was not able to sell any paintings when he was alive and somehow
posthumously his work is regarded as the work of a genius and he is hailed as the
greatest painter to have ever lived. If such was indeed the case, why would you
be so cruel to the man and allow him to die penniless and depressed?
It is not just Van Gogh. Look at the story of Galileo. Sentenced
to death by the church because he stated that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
I wonder then, do humans fear original ideas so much?
This brings me to the recent and disturbing trend of using
apps which make what is being called AI art. But before I proceed further down
this rabbit hole, let us digress again and talk a little bit about the words “talent”
and “practice”.
We often hear the words “You’re so talented!” or “He’s
an amazing writer!” don’t we? I was having a chat with an artist friend of
mine who told me categorically that more than talent it is hard work, practice,
blood, sweat and tears that is what is used to get someone to the point of being
amazing. I am not saying being talented is a bad thing, I am pointing out the
immense dedication and sincerity it takes (not to mention patience and a
certain amount of bravery) to make something of those talents. When I started
FLTM 12 years ago, I had no idea what to do. But I stuck to it. I read books, I
read other writers. I practiced. I tore my hair out in frustration and I wept.
But suddenly, 100 people read the stuff I wrote. Suddenly I had been writing
for a year. Suddenly, writing became my way of dealing with my issues. Today I have
a portal where I have spent 12 years of my life’s time.
And what the advent of AI art is going to do is, it is going
to replace this time and blood and sweat and tears with an algorithm and a
microchip.
Do you now understand the anger of so many artists and
creators out there? What AI art means is that a person’s entire livelihood is at
stake. Michelangelo started out with grinding colours together at an art school
and he spent years there honing his craft before becoming one of the most
renowned sculptors in the world. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa still mystifies
art critics and connoisseurs even today. Their work is studied by artists past
and present so that they can themselves create. Imagine if this was just tossed
into a bonfire and that bonfire was lit.
What is next? Robots in the Olympic Games? Andy Murray vs The
Terminator?
In an age where everything we want is available at the push
of a button thanks to the Internet, it is a very essential tool for learning
and honing one’s craft. I know I use the Internet a lot. But the flip side is
that if everything is indeed available at the push of a button, what happens to
human curiosity? If fifty years in the future, a bot is going to serve you
breakfast in bed, will you be curious to know where that breakfast came from? Children
these days cannot imagine a world of telegrams and letters. Talk to them about
telegrams and they will point at their phones and talk about the app’s latest
update. While I do understand that technology is always adapting and changing and
growing, it is doing so because humans are curious, because humans want to
challenge themselves, because they want to do better.
It would be terrible if this curiosity was no longer there and
if indeed the world as we know it would be run by algorithms and AI as opposed
to creators and innovators. I can only hope that what today is AI art does not
become tomorrow what is governing the planet.
If it does, we have failed Van Gogh again.
The Bilge Master
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