In the world of higher education, where I currently work, there are a lot of big discussions being had about how to adjust the teaching/ learning model to the new realities of AI generated content. It is a tall order to adjust regulations at the student evaluation level, and also adjust teaching methods to utilize and incorporate the now widely accessible artificial intelligence tools.

Today I have been familiarizing myself with the recent AI image generating tool on Shutterstock, a paid image subscription service. Their tool produced this lovely gem of a watercolor. It could be my image… actually it is, technically. But I didn’t create it…actually I did. Its just that I didn’t use my paint, brushes, or canvas. I used a different tool.

The control and authoring power I used in creating the image was based not on physical and mental and spiritual ability to paint. The ability to physically paint was not necessary. But the word choice in my image description and my curation of image choices generated, and subsequent changes to the image using AI resulted in what you see i front of you.

Is it cheating? Does it make me a fraud if I say it is my art? After all there are many artists who attach pencils to trees and have the trees draw for them in the wind. There are artists who dangle cans of paint with holes drilled in from ropes and swing them over a canvas to create art. Each person has tools they use to create their output.

Accountants use spreadsheets, which calculate things automatically, after initial setup. Is it the same concept?

I think so. Will the tool cause a shift in how people work? Yes. Each industry and individual will, over time, discern what these new tools are good for and not. How using AI can make work easier and how it can be a time-waster will only be revealed in time. My general idea is that curating and refining AI generated content may become more important than creating original content in some disciplines. Is there anything that can substitute for the practice of painting for me, personally? No, because for me it is a meditation, a spiritual and personal kind of activity. But can AI become part of my creative practice? Yes. And the specifics of that will have to develop over time.

I’d love to hear what you think. Feel free to comment below.