No Robo - Will AI put artists out of a job?
Updated: Dec 11, 2022
As AI slowly takes the stage, many artists are starting to wonder if they'll be left out in the cold. Nowadays, it only takes one sentence for AI to produce complete images, computer codes, or even animations. And this is just the beginning of the madness to come. We can only wait for the first AI to write a top-ten hit and dominate the charts. Soon, we'll be relying on digital creative outbursts for all sorts of artistic expression. I'm actually typing this text with the help of AI right now – Grammarly is suggesting that I remove the word "actually," but I feel like it's a necessary distinction between me and the machines.
But with AI taking over more and more of the creative process, it raises some serious questions. How much of my work is truly mine, and how much is fabricated by the AI? Am I becoming a better writer because of these tools, or will my skills deteriorate as I rely on them more and more? And can I trust that machine-generated art will be free of bias? These are all difficult questions that require a deep examination of the science and philosophy behind AI and creativity.
For now, I'll stick with the theatre – I can't imagine sending a robot avatar to a school play instead of me any time soon (while I'm tanning on the beach). Theatre is the analog counterpart to the digital world, and it's becoming increasingly important as a counterpoint to all the commercialized, impersonal art out there. Just like people don't crave owning a physical album anymore – they want the experience of a concert – the same goes for theatre. Human interactions are the most valuable of all, and no robot can ever recreate the magic that exists between us humans.
I see a bright future for the "living" arts – not resisting technological improvements, but always remembering what makes the human experience so sacred: being human. Take that, robots!
ps. I asked GPT3 to make a joke about this blog and it came up with this:
"Looks like robots are about to take over the world, but at least we'll still have theatre to keep us human. Sorry Robo-avatars, no beach tanning for you!"
