What gives generative AI its value?
How much is any one item worth? The simple answer: It's worth whatever someone will pay for it.
But what gives art value, whether that value be monetary or otherwise?
Uniqueness can't be the answer, because very little in the world is truly unique. Unique means something is unlike anything else you've ever seen before. And even the most 'unique' art is derived from something else at some point.
Complexity is a terrible answer too, because some of the most popular art is simple. In fact, that simplicity is crucial for the art's success, as it makes the art accessible to the masses.
The best answer I've found for what gives art value lies in the artist's decisions, no matter how mundane those decisions may seem.
Why did the artist focus on these parts? Why didn't they focus on other details?
These choices lead to the creation and development of a style. A connection to that style is what makes us place value on the art we love.
Whether the decisions be conscious or unconscious, they affect how artists present their work. And that presentation affects how (or if) we connect with the art.
While there are surely still new artistic trails to blaze, we've also hit a point where all art feels familiar in some way. But maybe there's one small detail—an artist choice—that makes the art stand out.
So where's the value in generative AI art?
Generative AI tools don't make creative decision based on instinct or perspective or limitations—it makes its decisions based on data. Sure, a human artist can do the same, but a human artist also has the option to ignore the data and try something crazy just because he's feeling a little froggy.
If the data (and the generative AI model's haphazard training) say a line goes here, then by golly a line in this spot is what you're gonna get. In this way, generative AI takes no risk, so why should anyone pay attention? What's there to connect to our humanity?
Generative AI might be weak for art, but it's ideal for generating placeholders in situations in which you really don't care. Though, instead of using generative AI to spew out a wall of text no one will bother to read, you could use lorem ipsum for the same result. And you could lean on stock images instead of entering a thousand prompts into your generative AI model of choice. (Let's be honest: No one gets the perfect result on the first prompt.)
But, Jake, I can hear you say—people would feel disrespected if they realized I was using lorem ipsum and stock images.
Fair point. But remember, that's also how people feel when they realize your text and images were made with generative AI. If you didn't care enough to actually make the thing (or have someone else make the thing), then why should anyone care to consume it?
So, maybe choices are only one part of the value equation. Perhaps the other part is human involvement. And if a human need not be involved, then maybe it just ain't art.
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