A commentary on AI art arguments from a traditional artist

I think that anti-AI artists need to stop making such reactive, emotional arguments, and that the AI-defenders need to stop comparing apples to oranges.

They keep comparing AI programs explicitly made to rip off one single artist's style to a person being influenced after looking at art. I think there is a good pro-AI argument somewhere but equating these two things are not it.

It is more like one artist deciding to make a career off of copying one other artist's style. 

We don't need to dance around this issue with false equivalencies. I also find most of the pro-AI side to generally lack empathy, which disgusts me. (And that's not my argument, just a statement).

But at the same time, there is a difference between being a criminal and just an arsehole and I don't think the anti-AI people have a legal leg to stand on. As much as in my heart I believe we owe artists' feelings consideration, I don't think that there is nothing we can realistically do about it without causing more problems than we are solving, as it could pave the way to infringe on others' rights to a greater degree.

Personally I believe it is in artists' best interests to focus on adapting instead of fighting. If they can ride the wave they could even stand to benefit from the rise of art generated by artificial intelligence, and that if it could be seen as a tool for artists instead of a separate competitor that in tandem with creative human beings it could also create some wonderful things. 

As a mainly traditional artist I remember worrying about left behind when digital art became the new standard. But aside from its initial big boom, it didn't end up being as bad as I thought. To my surprise people still like my unpredictable watercolours and scratchy sketches, and I feel like there is an extra layer of admiration people have knowing it was done without an undo button. 

To my surprise, people value my art for my process. And maybe that surprised me so much because I didn't value my own efforts enough; I focused too much on products. As it turned out, the very human act of me scraping materials on paper is apparently a story that in my fears is something I had become guilty of devaluing, but I am now grateful to audiences for keeping alive and well.

So digital artists especially, I don't think you will be replaced. In fact, I feel like AI art gives you the title of "leader". For the record, I disagree with the practice of modeling algorithms that target any living, individual artist's style when they have explicitly expressed their disagreement with it. Just like respecting authors who say they do not want fanfiction of their work made, no matter how much I might wish they felt differently I believe in respecting their feelings. However, I think that the more gracefully, or at least diplomatically, artists handle this transition the sooner some sort of meaningful, and impactful etiquette will be established, and one that does in face impact business.