Published: June 20, 2023
If you’ve been paying attention at all to what’s going on, chances are you’ve heard about the rapid ascent of AI technology in the creative world, things like ChatGPT and deep fakes. AI, which stands for artificial intelligence, has become much more prevalent and capable in the last few years, doing everything from learning how to play complex games to drafting articles on given topics to instantly creating works of art featuring any subject in any style. Sounds like magic, doesn’t it?
To some, though, it sounds like a threat. Computers that can write a script, paint a picture, compose a song, or create a video? How will creatives hold on to a job in the face of cheap, instant work?
What Will We Do?
Well, we’re not shutting down and tucking our tails between our legs just yet. You see, AI might be able to compose on demand, but what, exactly, are you getting?
AI learns from training data, scouring internet text and images, watching videos, and attempting to categorize and recreate anything it sees. There’s an inherent problem in this that we will mention but not go too deeply into, since there haven’t been any rulings on the subject. That is, AI is using what it has seen to create assets. In many cases, the creators of the input it learns from have given no consent in the matter.
This means that, essentially, AI has learned by stealing the intellectual property of thousands of people who have exhibited their work online. As it creates on demand, AI gives no thought to what it has taken and how it uses that source material. Many creators feel like AI is stealing their work and using it for its own creation, essentially plagiarizing with no indication that it is doing so. This doesn’t seem like an issue if people are just using AI-created media for inspiration, for entertainment, or just to experiment with what can be created. But issues arise when companies and individuals use AI-generated content to make money.
Some argue that the AI is just doing what humans do every day. An artist is inspired by classic works of art. A writer may mimic the writing style of an author they admire, whether or not they realize they are doing so. How is AI any different? I suppose that remains to be seen, as AI creations and the rights of the creators whose material it was trained on haven’t been ruled on, legally.
Where Do We Stand?
We can’t yet say what the future holds for the use of AI in creative endeavors, but we can say where we stand on the matter.
Firstly, we won’t be using AI to create anything that will be delivered to clients. So far, our experiences with AI generated content has been weird, spooky, and hilarious. That’s not quite what we aim for when it comes to finished products.
Secondly, we think that AI misses the mark when it comes to one of our core values: Customize every job for every client. See, we want to get to know you. We want to work with you to create something that you and we can be proud of. We don’t want to smash ideas into a generator and dump them on your plate. With our approach, you’ll know you’re getting the benefit of our years of expertise, our design sensibilities, our training in our specific disciplines, and our knowledge of what’s going on in the world of design.
Could we use AI to create something that would fit the bill for a client? Probably. But we don’t want to present you with someone else’s work. We exist for a reason, and that reason is to create something beautiful and functional for everyone who needs it. So you don’t have to worry about accusations of plagiarism or legal battles down the road. We’re here for you, and we’ve got you covered.
But if you want to generate images of kittens wearing tiny sneakers on a light up dance floor in the style of Vincent Van Gogh, knock yourself out, but you may end up with something like this.
