Over the course of my slowly recovering relationship with life and the accompanied dive back into work, I found the symptoms of my mental illness engaging in a brewing reaction with the profound and dark fear of being rendered obsolete. As did probably half the art community. Then I did the usual WWMTS (what would my therapist say) routine and voilà, here we are.

But in all seriousness, I’m almost a little bit proud at how I’m cooperating with my tired brain on this particular notion. Rather than remain in the loop of negative thought spirals, I changed the medium to a bunch of questions, such as: 

How can the profound fear of AI taking on artists’ jobs and overwhelming the world with the effortless creation of almost literally any artistic endeavor also act as a catalyst for novel human creativity? For finding uncharted ways, solutions, perspectives, not just in the arts, but also towards individual mental health goals? Most importantly, for retaining a motivation for life?

I’m not at all certain on these, but I’ve just sorta stopped myself short every time the answer was good rather than negative. For example:

• I can let myself by catalyzed by AI’s terrific “skills” and always try and counter AI with simple human creativity. Because AI wouldn’t be able to create literally anything if it wasn’t for human-made creations and ideas in the first place.  

• AI can’t (yet) show the process. Like, the messy, mediocre, exciting, awkward, ugly-phase process of human-made creations. I can.

• AI tools can simply become a new tool to enhance individual art. Like Procreate and Photoshop are digital tools supporting rather than erasing all artists. I can counter the sheer number of possibilities of AI-created art that already overwhelm me. Instead, Ic can find creative impulses by way of minimalistic approaches to my art, and then couple those with unique new interpretations or ways of displaying, framing and explaining it (even and especially online).

• I can PAINT MORE MURALS because out on a limb I’ll say AI ain’t too bothered with walls yet.  

• I could do everything that is counterintutitive to what AI might or might not do. I like the notion of distinct human interpretations. There is a news story of a woman in a domestic abuse situation telling the police on the phone that she “wants to order a pizza” in order to mislead her abuser listening in. The phone operator was knowledged and smart enough to read the situation correctly, allowing for her to be rescued – all without her mentioning any related words other than “large pizza”. An AI might have redirected her. But that’s the niche of human intelligence. It’s that niche that human artists will have to try hard at remaining in. It’ll just require a little bit of an effort.

Enough analysis for now. Depression make brain tired. I can’t help but feel uneasy about the tendency to not take fears of AI seriously. AI comes with literally every and any side imaginable. It will most likely be more complex in reality than current black-and-white prognoses make it out to be. Because a prediction is not a synonym for likelihood. But, for my depressed fellows out there: that is a good statement.