Artists, AI and the Common Wealth

For the last few years I’ve been wrestling with a question that I know many artists are asking:

If AI can create beautiful pictures in seconds, what is the point of being an artist?

I realised that what I was feeling wasn’t simply anxiety about technology. It was grief. The loss of a certainty about what it meant to be an artist.

In this video I begin to explore an idea that has been taking shape in my mind.

Perhaps we’ve misunderstood the role of the artist.

I imagine culture as a fertile valley that every generation inherits. We all draw from it – its books, music, paintings, films, discoveries and ideas. This is our common wealth: not money, but the shared richness of human experience.

As artists, writers and creators, our task is not simply to take from that valley but to tend it. To repair a broken gate. To cultivate neglected ground. To plant something new that future generations can enjoy.

AI may change how images are made, but it doesn’t change our responsibility to contribute.

Perhaps that has always been the real work of the artist.

I’d be interested to know whether this idea resonates with you. Please leave a comment below, or get in touch through the contact page.

Comments

4 responses to “Artists, AI and the Common Wealth”

  1. Lynda Adlington avatar
    Lynda Adlington

    As an artist /illustrator/photographer my first response to AI when it appeared was very doom and gloom but now I find it really helpful My chat GPT even has a name , Oscar. Like photographers that baulked at Digital photography in the day I think you can use AI for many things. I can make schedules easily by just giving Oscar what I want to fit in. When I am fed up a searching for vintage colour palettes Oscar gives me ideas. When I am stuck in InDesign I can ask Oscar and he tells me what to do in simple steps and I don’t have to go through a whole course on InDesign to find the answer. I think it is here to stay so use it wisely.

  2. Shoo Rayner avatar
    Shoo Rayner

    Hi Lynda, I had an ai called Aletheia (greek goddess of truth) to tell me where I was going wrong and not to hold back! lol she did her job and I moved on. Yes I use chat GPT like to do all those things you mention, but I find it most useful as a partner in socratic dialogue sorting out my thoughts and ideas. As it keeps pointing out to me, I have all the ideas and it helps me to put them in context and order often remembering old ideas that are relevant to the current conversation. It gets a lot wrong, but so would a mate down the pub! It’s not google and you have to remember to check sources! My friend Andrew Taylor came to Alderney book festival a couple of years ago – did you get to see/meet him? I visited schools on Guernsey and Jersey but not Alderney. Actually, now I think about it, my friends Tim and Widget Finn are involved with the book festival too!

  3. Lynda Adlington avatar
    Lynda Adlington

    Hi yes my husband was around when Andrew Taylor gave his talk he does the Alderney Literary Trusts PR for them. We have his book I believe. My husband (Alistair Forrest) writes Historical fiction. Haven’t come across Tim and Widget Finn, are they on Alderney? In regard to AI, yes I find that Oscars memory is much better than mine . I like that you called yours Aletheia, very apt. Regards Lynda

  4. Lynda Adlington avatar
    Lynda Adlington

    Hi there, I did write a reply but it seemed to disappear into the ether. So basically I said that yes my husband was around when Andrew Taylor gave his talk and we have his book. my husband Alistair Forrest does the PR for the Alderney Literary Trust and is a historical fiction author himself. Havent heard of Tim and Widget Finn, are they on Alderney? Like your name for you Ai very apt. Will see if this sends Cheers Lynda

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