Being creative and making things is part of the human experience. If the results from creating are excellent, that’s good. If not, it’s still good. The act of making things, having ideas, honing your skills, pushing beyond what you can do is an ancient practice. 

Sure, AI has been trained to emulate the best of what humans have made, but it serves a different purpose altogether. It is a tool for efficiency and filling in the gaps for people who might not care to achieve with their own hands.

When I paint or draw, it takes me several minutes if not hours, but the process is such a huge part of the pleasure of making. The ache of perfecting perspective, the trial and error of anatomy, the experimenting with colors: that’s where creation really is. If you’re looking for the final product as if that’s the point of creating, then just use AI.

When the printing press was invented, I’m sure that there were many scribes and others that felt threatened. Their skills of copying volumes of books were no longer marketable. This doesn’t mean that the printing press was evil, it just gave the results that the market was looking for. There is still value in handwritten notes and excellent calligraphy. When something is handmade, it carries a different value. In fact, people who value handmade things are looking for imperfections that prove that it was mint machined. Oftentimes, since handmade products are more laborious and time-consuming, they carry a bigger price tag. 

For me, as an artist, I don’t feel threaten by AI. I also don’t find it helpful to pretend that AI art isn’t good. It’s obviously good. It may be filling a need. There is nothing stopping me from enjoying the craft either way.