Will AI take over creative jobs? Will it make designers redundant?
We faced similar concerns centuries ago with photography. Discover how history responded and learn from its lessons.
The day Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the world’s first photo from his window, he did more than just snap a picture- he unwittingly sparked a revolution in the world of art. Suddenly, the power to capture a moment wasn’t just in the hands of skilled artists who had spent years mastering their craft. Now, anyone with a camera could freeze time.
Machine-made, instant ‘artworks’ swamped the art market. Some were intrigued, while others were threatened. The dilemma was real: embrace this new gadget or stick to the traditional ways. Artists like Eugene Delacroix and Paul Cézanne openly used photographs as references to enhance their art. But others like Edouard Manet, though rumored to have sought the aid of photography, kept it more under wraps. Either way, this made photography become both a creative tool and an art form itself.
But some others like Claude Monet found ways to combat this invading medium by paving a new path in art. Cue Impressionism, where artists embraced a less literal interpretation of the world. Instead, they aimed to capture the feel, the vibe of a scene, pushing art beyond its tried-and-tested borders.
Gen AI and Its Impact on Digital Design
Today, we find ourselves at a similar crossroads with the emergence of Generative AI in digital design. Tools like Midjourney are to modern designers what the camera was to 19th-century artists – game changers. They’ve reshaped the landscape of design in a little over a year.
Initially, AI-generated art was like that new kid on the block – quirky, but not really a threat to the seasoned pros. But by mid-2022, the narrative began to shift. Midjourney 3, boosted by influencers like Chris Do, started making serious waves online. Sure, AI art had its quirks (like those weirdly distorted faces), and many thought it would be years before it could truly compete with human creativity.
But the leap came quicker than expected. Within months, the more sophisticated Midjourney 4 was released. It became increasingly difficult to tell AI art apart from a photograph, (unless you looked a little closely at the hands). This development raised pressing questions like “Is AI art actually art?” and “Is AI coming for my job?”. The design world was polarized. Platforms like Art Station saw mass protests against AI art, while others, like Fiverr, launched campaigns such as “AI took my job to the next level.”
Stock image sites like Freepik have embraced this new, alien art form by incorporating them into their offerings. We see designers slowly embracing AI art and using it to enhance their designs, but we’re yet to see a new art form being developed in protest to this. But that’s something this author is waiting in anticipation for.
Conclusion
Love it or hate it, AI-generated art is here to stay. Like in the early days of photography, we are presented with a choice: to embrace AI art or to reject it. The true impact of AI in design is still a topic of much speculation and anticipation. However, if history teaches us anything, it’s that human creativity always finds a way. Whether we choose to incorporate AI into our creative process or to forge a new path in design that AI cannot follow, one thing is certain: the ‘normal’ in design is set to evolve, but this will in no way diminish human creativity. After all, creativity is about finding a way when none seems to exist.
