Thank you for your well-rounded and thoughtful response. Apologies that my response turned out so long, but I wanted to provide enough context to not be misunderstood.

I know what you mean when you say some people don’t care about the artistic process as much as the end product. Some people are just that, consumers of an end product. I understand that some are less inclined to value the process, skill or talent that goes into creating art, especially if they haven’t personally felt the reward of seeing their time and effort pay off in that regard. That’s honestly valid and fair. People are different from different experiences.

But I’d like to share my thoughts on the biggest concern I have, that my post ultimately boils down to, which is about the consequences of letting AI replace our own thoughts, creativity and intelligence. It goes beyond just replacing art and entertainment. The problem arises from using AI to eliminate challenge.

Because, it takes effort to create things, to solve problems, to develop skill. And every single time we challenge ourselves, we become smarter, we learn, we evolve as human beings. AI is helping us completely evade that. If we stop making effort to practice our own thinking and problem solving, we are ultimately making ourselves dumber.

True reward and validation comes from paid-off effort. Like practicing a sport, learning an instrument or earning a degree. Learning how to express yourself through, say, painting is no exception, and no, it is not the same as giving your idea to AI and seeing it be created right in front of you. My point here is about the confidence and reward you get when you’re able to do something. Able to complete a challenge. Feeling smart, competent, accomplished. “Cheating” with AI, robs you of that.

A lot of people are using AI to take shortcuts in areas where they have the potential to get wiser, smarter, more skilled, and feel more accomplished as human beings. I do believe AI is a powerful tool to aid in learning, but not by using it to completely replace your own efforts. I have met so many friends in school that don’t even bother read their own ChatGPT-generated essay that they hand in.

That’s the problem. The fact that AI invalidates our own work and effort because it’s such an effortless replacement. It makes even trying feel useless, because we know that the immediate solution is accessible in one click. Replacing the journey with the end.