AI has threatened a lot of people, but I think artists have been the most upset
As noted in GumGum's booklet ART.IFICIAL (2017), "There is something about artificial intelligence that inspires a low-grade panic in most people...AI represents a very practical threat to our economic well-being, eliminating jobs once performed by unskilled or junior workers."
"But pursuits that rely on and express our very humanity—art, literature, music—and the industries that harness that creativity were supposed to be safe."
Those fields that express our humanity are indeed sacred spaces to us. You can see it in the struggle penned by many authors and script writers. In I, Robot, Will Smith's character asks Sonny the robot, "Can you compose a Symphony? Paint a masterpiece?"
With wit, Sonny asks in response: "Can you?"
It is chilling to think of the implications of losing our artistic pursuits and expression. An ever-optimized algorithmic garbage heap of junk-food style art, saturating us to the point of no longer experiencing real art.
Doom and gloom is not yet, however. I think we still have time to draw boundaries, claim the roles and responsibilities that are uniquely ours as humans.
That also means we'll have to intentionally invest in new skills. No longer is an artist a role for someone else—I think that technology is pushing all of us to become artists.
Water simulators in Hollywood movies
Take, for instance, the way Hollywood creates photo-realistic water for movies.
In Corridor Crew's video, "I Learned How to Fake Water Exactly Like Hollywood," the process involves a sophisticated combination of science, tools, and systems designed to support the VFX artist.
There are still technically flaws—they're not simulating water down to the molecular level AND water interacts with other systems like dirt, air, etc.
At some point it's diminishing returns to model the complexity of physics and the natural world. Not just because it's complex, but because the whole point is to support the story—the part that the humans came for.
In the video, Jordan interviews Chris White, who remarks: "At the end of the day we we're still making movies and it's about telling the story."
These tools exist to aid and support the artist in telling the story. The need for an artist to guide the process and make decisions remains critical.
"Even if we do reach a point where, on a molecular level we can perfectly recreate water, you would almost still need the artist in order to draw it in such a way that it tells the story that needs to be told."
What is an Artist?
Artists combine technical skills with decision-making skills. They make connections. They tell stories.
It is my view that all humans are artists. It's not some gift given to the prodigious, rather it's an innate part of every human being. It's a role we inhabit when the need arises. It is sacred, impactful, and must be re-invested in.
We're quickly discouraged from artist pursuits in our current social structures (at least here in Western culture, specifically U.S. culture). A 5-year-old child will be endlessly creative, but a 10-year-old is already feeling the pressure to conform, to leave divergent thinking, to do things that are safer and rewarded more often.
So, how do we bring artistry back into our lives as adults?
How to become an artist is non-traditional art (like a 9-5 job)
1. Improve your input
Creativity often manifests in the fusion of disparate concepts. Consider Lindsey Stirling, who created a new form of artistic expression by combining her two passions: dancing and playing the violin.
Our work can present opportunities to blend multiple passions or skills or solutions. Sometimes, you have to discover it. Having a bank of new ideas, potential solutions, or even a breadth of knowledge increases that surface area where connections and solutions can be made.
Improve the quality and variety of your [[Input|inputs]]. It's the first step in cultivating innovative thinking and creativity in your own work.
2. Hone Your Craft Continuously refine your skills: whatever makes your job easier and whatever helps inspire you to move forward.
It is vital to improve and to learn—both for your brain health and for your craft.
I've recently found that this part can be overwhelming. Once you're no longer a beginner and you realize how little you really know, the progress slows and it feels so much harder to learn or improve.
The point is to keep going, keep trying. It's not about milestones and measurements, comparison and competition.
This is your journey. No effort is truly wasted, because even failure is a teacher. Your craft, whether it's accounting, or teaching, or data entry, or web development, is a pursuit, not a destination.
Being on the journey is honing your craft.
3. Experiment and practice
The continuous process of experimentation, refinement, and failure is where real artistry is born.
The experimental mindset allows you to explore new techniques, challenge your boundaries, and zero-in on your unique voice and style.
Putting in the time, the reps and also shaking things up frequently will help you break through barriers. It's hard, but it's also usually fun—hopefully.
Cyborg
As we look to the future with the technology that is rapidly advancing beyond what we can comprehend or keep pace with, we'll want to maintain our claim on artistry.
Tech will continue to push forward, and that can be used to our advantage or our disadvantage.
The hardest part is figuring out how to allow technology to push us up the proverbial ladder into strategic, decision-making roles, without letting technology push us off the ladder.
For now, I think the most important thing we can do is cultivate our creativity, practice decision-making, continuously experiment, iterate, update, and shake up our inputs.
We must all become artists—again.