Coming from an anti-copyright perspective, critiques of AI art borne of “muh property” are immaterial. I do believe artists who make art as a living should be adequately recompensed for their work. But once that’s done and their work’s out there in the world, it no longer belongs to anyone but to everyone. I see nothing unethical about an AI program using those pieces to make what are essentially seamless digital collages, so long as the persons using it aren’t pulling a Lichtenstein. Anti-capitalist critiques, along with critiques pertaining to the artistic merit of AI, on the other hand, are quite valid.

I began dabbling in AI art this past September. It was a fun toy to play with those first few weeks, but it quickly lost its lustre. From the creative standpoint, I found it an incredibly low-effort, unchallenging, soulless exercise. Since then, I’ve only used AI-generated images as components in digital collages, as “pure” AI art does nothing for me as a creator.