“I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords.”
In reality, though, it’s not that simple. Technology isn’t a neutral force; every new invention is a reflection of the society that created it. While it’s been a huge and exciting year for AI tools like GPT-3, DALL-E, Midjourney and others, it’s worth considering their broader impact.
In mid-December, 2022, I made a set of 50 digital avatars with Lensa.ai.
But did I really make anything?
The subscription-based app did the technical legwork: mapping the vectors of my face and returning 50 unique results in about 14 minutes (for $3.99). I gave them 18 real-life pictures of my face and took on the role of quality controller once the results came back.
This process is pretty far removed from sitting in front of a mirror, pencil or paintbrush in hand, trying to capture what makes you you.
That being said, curating these images still feels like a creative process. Collaborating with generative systems can be creative in the same way as gardening: what you remove is as important and personal a decision as what you allow to grow. The gardener has to credit the larger processes at work while taking responsibility for their own choices. How much sunlight? Pesticides or no pesticides?
As users and co-creators of generative systems, we also need to take responsibility for what's in our control. Algorithmic biases are real and have time and again reflected the inequities of our society at large. In a similar vein, artists in ‘traditional’ mediums like painting, photography, music, writing, film, design etc. face an uphill battle trying both to create and to make a living while competing with unprecedented (and let’s face it, pretty impressive) technologies.
Glass half full: these tools can unlock new avenues for creativity and expression that we couldn’t fathom just a few years ago. New mediums will grow and mature, virtuosos will emerge, and our culture will share the bounty.
Half empty: they can continue to stifle the voices that they choose not to hear, the faces they choose not to see, the talents they choose not to reward.
