A.I.-Generated Art Is Already Transforming Creative Work (NYTimes, Sept 30, 2022)

Title: Generative AI is transforming creative work

Summary: People have long thought that AI and automation will soon enough replace jobs with repetitive labor, such as truck drivers, retail cashiers, etc., but cannot replicate the creativity only human brains can produce. Things have taken an interesting turn, however, as AI is entering this creative class, with DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion leading the change. Although there are concerns about how this can replace artists and illustrators, this article argues that generative AI will assist these professionals instead. First of all, it is cost-efficient: While human artists can be too expensive for startups and small companies, generative AI such as DreamStudio charges a flat fee of a cent per image. Next, although time-saving, it lacks the empathetic touch of a human, as Isabella Orsi, an interior designer, claims. Most importantly, AI-generated art is like a concept artist that never runs out of creative juice. That being said, it has its limitations, specifically when it comes to more complex sketches. This is why creative professionals think that AI image generators are just another sketch tool: It cuts down the time to visualize rough ideas, but the final product is almost always realized by a human.

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