If my computer breaks, I can still draw. Or write. I can still produce. I can create without needing references. Regardless of the tool, it's still me doing the creating. Without a database that is dependent on using others' work without permission, AI engines can't do anything. Without the AI software being up, you can't produce anything.
Obviously, some media (film, photography, architecture) are more dependent on external tools than others (dance, standup.) This isn’t otherwise considered relevant to legitimacy. (Ironically trad art is probably closer to film than dance on this scale.)
Writing and art takes years of practice. Typing in prompts isn't remotely the same thing, and to argue that people who type in prompts should be at the same table as those who have spent years working on their trade is quite frankly insulting.
Since it’s a new medium, you obviously don’t have many people who spent years being good at it and pushing its boundaries; I think it’ll be interesting when we do so.
(To go with the photography analogy, me (zero skill at photography) can in seconds point a button and get a more accurate depiction of a human form than Renaissance masters were able to. That doesn’t mean I can do many of the interesting things Renaissance masters can do, or that people who have poured years into photography can do.)
insofar as this is about jobs, then yeah, I think it’s unfortunate that there will likely be a loss of some jobs. But nb that getting to work full-time as a trad artist is already quite rare; most of the joy created by it is through people pursuing it as a hobby. Personally I’m glad that there’s a new artistic/hobby space to explore.
(If the industry standard was “anything with AI in it has to be shared” or whatever that would be fine with me, maybe even ideal. People generally don’t try to sell fanfic but it’s become a part of the culture, and I even think that keeping it amateur has been good for it in many ways.)
