Kevin Roose writes, in the New York Times, “An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.” He discusses the controversy surrounding A.I.-generated artwork, the ethical questions raised by the use of A.I. tools, and the implications of such tools for human artists. But before a moral panic erupts, Roose points out that this is not the first use of AI in creating art—though it is much better than previous attempts.
The controversy is around Jason Allen’s A.I.-generated art, which won first place in the digital category of the Colorado State Fair: “I won, and I didn’t break any rules.” In his view, the ethics of A.I. rest in the people who use it. But these apps have made many human artists understandably nervous about their own futures—why would anyone pay for art, when they could generate it themselves?
