How Generative AI Could Replace Artists in Creative Industries | WSJ Tech News Briefing

Introduction

In this episode of Tech News Briefing, the host introduces the topic of how AI is changing our lives and culture. The focus of this episode is on how AI could upend artistic industries.

Fear of Generative AI Replacing Artists

This section discusses how generative AI tools are being used to create art, which has raised concerns among artists that they may be replaced by machines.

• Illustrators fear that generative AI could replace them.

• Air generation tools have already been used to make a prize-winning picture comic books and magazine covers.

• There are questions about the information the art used to build these AI art generators.

• Some lawsuits have arisen around this issue.

Historical Adaptation to Technological Breakthroughs

This section discusses how technological advancements have contributed to job creation and economic growth in technical industries. Creative roles that rely on the human brain have adapted to technological breakthroughs.

• Mechanization and automation replaced workers in technical industries.

• Creative roles that rely on the human brain have adapted to technological breakthroughs.

• Workers in creative fields have avoided being fully replaced by technology.

Tomer Hanuka: An Illustrator's Perspective

This section features an interview with Tomer Hanuka, an illustrator living in New York City who earns a middle-class income designing book covers and magazine issues for publications like The New Yorker and National Geographic. He shares his perspective on how AI-generated art threatens his livelihood.

• Tomer Hanuka is an illustrator living in New York City who designs book covers and magazine issues for publications like The New Yorker and National Geographic.

• Hanukkah's distinctive style involves expressive figures with theatrical anatomy, bold colors, and unusual color arrangements.

• Hanukkah's artistic identity is his cultural capital, which gives him power and recognition.

• AI-powered tools that generate art threaten Hanukkah's livelihood by using his identity in a way he can't control.

AI-Powered Art Tools

This section discusses how AI-powered art tools work and how they can be used to create unique works of art.

• Programs like Stable Diffusion Dolly 2 and Mid-Journey are examples of AI-powered art tools.

• Users can type in prompts like "illustration of a woman sitting in a cafe drinking coffee" to generate drawings.

• Users can also ask for work that evokes their favorite artists, such as Monet or Rembrandt.

• Strangers can access an artist's unique style for free on AI-powered art tools.

The Threat to Artists

This section discusses the threat that AI-generated art poses to artists and their livelihoods.

• Someone created 400 images using Tomer Hanuka's name and the word "cyberpunk" with an AI-powered tool called Open Sea.

• The resulting collection was sold on Open Sea under the title "Punks by Hanuka."

• The ease with which strangers can access an artist's unique style for free on AI-powered art tools is a direct threat to what artists do.

The Impact of AI on the Creative Industry

This section discusses how AI is expected to open up new opportunities for the creative industry and grow the pie for paid artistic work. It also acknowledges that AI would likely have an impact on jobs.

Concerns Raised by Creative Professions

• Painters, graphic designers, and concept artists have raised concerns that part or all of their livelihoods could be snatched away by people using AI programs.

• However, they are not the first creative professions to deal with the emergence of new tools specifically the introduction of artificial intelligence.

Impact on Film Industry

• The film industry has been using AI for a while now and some in the industry say it actually makes their work easier by taking away more mundane or repetitive tasks.

• Visual effects artist Evan Halleck says he mostly cleaned up shots removing things from the backgrounds of scenes. He also made a lot of versions of Evelyn, the main character when she's flying through the Multiverse.

• In previous roles, he used AI tools to assist in his work particularly for a process called rotoscoping which can take five-six days to do things manually but with AI-powered rotoscoping tools, Hallock can cut that time drastically.

Impact on Jobs and Wages

• Hallock used to outsource this work to others who could make anywhere from 500 to over a thousand dollars a day. Now with AI tools, he doesn't need to hire them.

• As these tools become more common in the industry even helic acknowledges they could have a big impact on who gets hired and how much money films put towards tasks like visual effects.

• Research from Goldman Sachs found that two-thirds of occupations could be partially automated by AI. The bank notes though that AI could lead to the creation of new roles and new ways of doing things.

The Impact of AI on Creative Jobs

This section discusses the impact of generative AI technology on creative jobs and how it could affect earnings and opportunities for the future workforce.

Skill Biased Technical Change

• Skill-biased technical change is a concept that explains how the adoption of new automated technology impacts workers who aren't entirely replaced by technology.

• Workers with skill and privilege in their job already tend to benefit from this change, while those below the waterline skill-wise tend to have fewer opportunities, lower pay, and more monotonous work.

• Those who are below that water line often end up with less opportunity, lower pay, and lower-quality jobs.

Impact on Creative Fields

• Creative fields are likely to be impacted by generative AI technology as novices will have fewer chances to get their foot in the door, develop industry knowledge, and hone their skills under a more seasoned artist.

• As more tasks are replaced with AI, only a small number of the very best artists will find well-paid work.

Unprecedented Pace of Change

• The speed at which AI technology is being adopted is unprecedented. It's hard to know the impact on society as a whole.

• Artists believe that their role won't go away entirely but will be significantly impacted by generative AI technology.

Conclusion

This section concludes the discussion about how generative AI technology could impact creative jobs.

• The adoption of new automated technologies like generative AI tools has raised concerns about job loss in various industries.

• Historically technological innovation has created more jobs and added more wealth to the economy, but the speed at which AI technology is being adopted is unprecedented.

• The impact of generative AI technology on society as a whole is hard to predict.

Thank you for the detailed instructions. I will keep them in mind while creating the notes.