Is AI Art Another Industrial Revolution in the Making?

Abstract

A major shift from skilled to unskilled workers was one of the many changes caused by the Industrial Revolution, when the switch to machines contributed to decline in the social and economic status of artisans, whose skills were dismembered into discrete actions by factory-line workers. We consider what may be an analogous computing technology: the recent introduction of AI-generated art software. AI art generators such as Dall-E and Midjourney can create fully rendered images based solely on a user's prompt, just at the click of a button. Some artists fear if the cheaper price and conveyorbelt speed that comes with AI-produced images is seen as an improvement to the current system, it may permanently change the way society values/views art and artists. In this article, we consider the implications that AI art generation introduces through a post-industrial revolution historical lens. We then reflect on the analogous issues that appear to arise as a result of the AI art revolution, and we conclude that the problems raised mirror those of industrialization, giving a vital glimpse into what may lie ahead.

Typology of Risks of Generative Text-to-Image Models

“…TTI systems can serve as powerful tools for professionals in fields such as design, advertising, and art [36,109,112,141]. They represent fresh avenues of exploration for creative individuals [38,119,119,135], and can offer accessible resources for a wider audience [177], even holding potential to "democratise" art [112,119].…”

“…TTI systems can serve as powerful tools for professionals in fields such as design, advertising, and art [36,109,112,141]. They represent fresh avenues of exploration for creative individuals [38,119,119,135], and can offer accessible resources for a wider audience [177], even holding potential to "democratise" art [112,119]. The fact that Stable Diffusion boasts ten million daily active users [56] testifies to the public's keen interest in leveraging TTI models for their personal entertainment.…”

“…Other studies, such as Yu et al [177] and Hutchinson et al [79], point to a Western skew in representation and warn about the potential for stereotype reinforcement. The consequences of such skewed representation could range from bolstering political agendas [112] to strengthening hegemonic structures, intentionally or unintentionally. Ungless et al [157] show that DALL-E mini, DALL-E 2, and StableDiffusion generate stereotyped images of non-cisgender identities, potentially exacerbating the discrimination faced by these communities.…”

“…Additionally, we ascribe the nature of potential harm, such as representational or allocative [9], to the identified stakeholders. We also touch upon risks of harm to environment [13,112].…”

The Role of Interface Design on Prompt-mediated Creativity in Generative AI

“…This trend appears to be particularly pronounced in the realm of visual art, with an estimated 15 billions of AI-generated images uploaded to the Web as of August 2023 [19]. The collective process of mass creation of artistic content through artificial intelligence represents an unprecedented cultural phenomenon whose complex facets have attracted the interest of researchers from multiple disciplines [4,11,12].…”