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AI Art Generation: Beneficial or Problematic?​

Everyone and their mama has heard about AI art generators and the various arguments and opinions folks have about them by now. Stable Diffusion, Dream, Craiyon, even applications like Lensa that use AI to augment existing images and countless others are arriving by the day. They've quickly become a mainstay in almost every artistic community I'm apart of or adjacent to. I've heard people argue both in favor and against their use, especially when it comes to collecting a profit off what people generate, and now I want to hear it from ya'll.

Which side of the spectrum do you fall? Is AI a legitimate tool for people to use in artistic "creation", or do you feel more strongly about how it borrows from the artists these various engines "sample"? Do you think it's ethical for people to make money using these programs? Do you feel similar about AI text generators? Would you play a game, read a book, or consume other media that was made entirely from AI? Do you feel that artists should disclose whether or not AI was used in their works?

Why or why not?

I would like it since it is literally impossible for me to ever do manual art because of my disability which gives me poor fine motor skills. I just simply can't control my hands as well as even as the average person, hell I never even managed to get a passing grade for my handwriting and it still rivals a doctor's in legibility. So programs like this could give people like me a chance to make our own art when otherwise we would never be able to.

I've heard this perspective from others before where AI could be a tool for disabled users. Do you mind answering the other questions I proposed in the OP then as well? Specifically about your thoughts on ethical use and disclosure?

Well I would have to ask where these programs get the images they augment. If the programs/the creators of them uses images that are free use or images that they own the right to, then I wouldn't see any ethical issues on their use. As for collecting a profit off of what people generate, well if there is a market for it and these programs are super expensive, I could see see people selling their generated images to people who can't afford the program themselves since it would probably be a fairly cheap commission for those on a budget. Of course you also can't get the same level of customization you could get for commissioning a traditional human artist. I personally would probably still commission artists in the traditional way unless it was for something extremely simple.

However if these programs simply snatch images from any source regardless of legality, then that is a big problem that could result in getting the company sued...though I doubt they would actually get any compuedence for it.

I actually have a piece of AI generated art that a friend created for me that is very useful as a reference for one of my characters.

It could be useful if the datasets weren't unethically obtained from people without their consent.

We put our art online for others to view and know that we made it, not for the gratification of techbros who couldn't be bothered to ask permission or pay royalties.

Considering how AI is already replacing several jobs (The Escapist just emptied its writers and editors for the sake of AI in an effort to cost-cut) I don't think we live in a world that's ready for it either.