The new magic of AI vs. the old magic of artists
a brief existential exploration of being an artist in the age of AI
these last few days, I finally started playing around with Midjourney — the generative art program. since the beginning of the year, when the world was in a storm around AI — I noticed how my reaction to generative art was a mixture of curiosity, excitement, and discomfort. when I’m uncomfortable about something like this, my instinct is to run towards it — try to understand it and make it my own.
here’s a framework/metaphor for AI that gave me some clarity:
AI = the magic of a high tech wand
Think of AI as a high tech, man-made wand that can do almost anything, but is dependent on an existing database of input. it will do only what you tell it to do, and it will give you ideas that are good — but never totally original.
Prompts = the words to the spells.
Anyone can say the prompts, and out comes the magic, within 60 seconds or less. if you don’t like it, you can tweak your spell, or ask around for other spells. here’s the other thing — the same spell doesn’t always work twice.
if you’re discovering new magic for the first time, you probably feel invincible, like god.
the old magic of artists
Artists and creatives practice old magic. as in, the magic isn’t dependent on a particular wand, or spell — instead, old magic lives within us. it lives in our hands, in our way of seeing, in our perspective and sense of possibility. old magic is not something you can pay a monthly subscription for; it’s cultivated through a long process of practice, and integration. old magic is very personal, and unique to each individual.
old magic is a process — a winding, mysterious path, guided by inspiration and serendipity
when I draw, or write, or create something with old magic, I have no idea where my inspiration will take me. I follow it, and surrender to it. therefore, what comes out of me can surprise me.
new magic AI: what’s missing
new magic can copy the aesthetic, style, and output of old magic, but it cannot recreate the process, or the essence.
it’s based on pattern recognition and output. it follows rules to create images that “look technically good.” the process is mostly about creating the right spell. pushing the right button and choosing from A-B-C-D.
essence: in that sense, it removes the personal essence — the individual fingerprint of an artist. even if you replicate someone’s style, you can’t replicate essence. I think of essence is something else — coming from intention x surrender to inspiration, mystery, creative force.
process: what this means is that the journey from A to Z is limited; you don’t take serendiptious detours in the process of creation, you don’t come up with new ideas and conceptual breakthroughs; and you certainly don’t enter a meditative flow state.
old magic takes time, is matured and fermented by time.
new magic promises speed. it removes time.
[note: everything I said above doesn’t really matter — if you’re the client, looking for stock images/artwork for your blog post. AI is very convienent, then. I’m mostly exploring from the perspective of an artist, feeling a bit existential.]
AI & the artist: combining old + new magic
as an artist, I think I’ll learn how to use new magic — AI tools — by thinking of it as a new toy/tool, rather than feeling threatened or replaced by it (which I don’t). AI is changing the world, with or without me. And my prediction (and hope) is this:
The more that new magic infiltrates the world, the more special old magic will be.
the more shiny beautiful things get pushed out in a few clicks of the keyboard, the more we’ll crave the truly handmade, human, and soulful.
perhaps, we will be so saturated with products — that we’ll start to crave process, serendipity, otherworldly inspiration, creative labor. we will crave the truly human. and, in the process, we’ll have to grapple with what exactly that means.
as artists, I think this is an invitation to learn how to embody the unique, irreplacable, highly personal power of our old magic — as something that can set us apart; as something that gives us superpowers.
and, at the same time, maybe we can take the shiny new wand, and wave it around a bit. 🪄