So...AI, eh? What a difficult subject for an artist.
I first delved into AI in late 2023 as an exercise in 'knowing your enemy'. I was surprised by how good it was, but wasn't particularly concerned - at least in the short term. The rate of change, however, has really caught me off-guard.
My first experiments were online and, as such, came with limits. Limits to size, quantity and complexity. As I looked a little closer I discovered easy methods to run generative AI image models 'locally' i.e. entirely on my own computer. This meant no limits, no cost (except power) and no restrictions.
I soon began to realise that we creative types should be concerned. This isn't exactly a revelation, but I do think some people are in denial as to the real threat.
AI isn't really 'intelligent' in a human sense, I know that. It sure acts that way, though! Yes, it's trained on other artists' work, and of course that's controversial. One could argue that, given enough time, a human could perfect any number of other artists' styles and replicate them, but I don't suppose that's the point.
The real threat, as I see it, is that - as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram has shown us for years - the public just. don't. care. If it looks good, it IS good. We can argue about ethics, but once the public gets used to something, the younger generation starts to relate to it, and big bosses see the cost benefits the more accepted it will become. It'll be more profitable than traditional methods (by far) and consumers will lap it up.
This is assuming that people even notice. Through my trials of AI image and video generation, I've seen it go from something I can easily identify to (just this past few days) something I have to study very closely.
So, will I be using AI in my work? Well, I don't see the point in cutting off one's monitor to spite one's PC, but there are a few reasons for me to carry on working with more 'traditional' computer graphics techniques.
Art direction is currently very difficult with AI. It can come up with some incredible results - maybe even better than you'd envisaged - but it can be frustrating to get it to do something you can already fully control with Blender, for example.
Consistency is another issue. Characters, buildings, props, etc. can all be tricky from a continuity point of view.
These problems will get better - probably quickly. But right now, I find it less stressful knowing I'm in control.
What I will use AI for is concepts and refinement. I'm completely incapable of conjuring images in my head (Aphantasia they call it...) so I have found AI useful for assisting my brain a little. And then there are the AI refinement techniques that have been used industry wide for many years without controversy - denoising, upscaling, etc.. Those are being improved on all the time and the time-savings (not to mention energy savings) can't be ignored.
I've rambled enough about this for now and there's a giant kitten in my garden turning all my plants into cake so I better go and deal with that. Unless it's AI...
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