Recent artificial intelligence (AI) developments have people speculating about its rising influence on creativity. AI tools such as WOMBO Dream and Suno, which have become popular because they are free, have some questioning if advancing technologies can genuinely impact human creativity, or surpass it as a whole.
Apprehensions about the impact AI tools may have on the future of creativity is a concern that warrants consideration. However, a particular truth has been overlooked. It is clear AI does not have what is required for creativity to thrive: the essence of human creativity.
Art in any form is creativity, whether it is viewing an art piece in a museum or listening to your favourite artist’s new hit single. Looking at the crux of the issue, visual artists worry AI art’s popularity could jeopardize their careers and credibility as people use AI apps to create new art based on web sources. However, just because it looks like art, doesn’t mean it’s creative.
Journalist Arden Mason-Ourique argued how the value of someone’s artwork depends on its creator’s experience, and how artists like Van Gogh, who had a history of struggling with mental illness and poverty, are held in such high regard because society the story and the pain Van Gogh endured when making his pieces. Art always has a backstory which includes effort.
Art is meant to resonate with the audience. It can convey a message and make a mess of your emotions. People love art and music because there is some sort of human connection involved. Whether creating something for themselves or onlookers, artists use their creativity to make something genuine.
AI cannot replicate the effort needed to create a story that feels human. Readers need emotion and deep thought to connect with what they are reading.
The music industry on the other hand has individuals using AI to generate entire songs within minutes, even having access to vocals from well-known artists to use in their song of choice. But if it takes less than a minute to make, can it be considered creative?
Music produces sound portraying a form of beauty or emotional expression. You can create as many songs and art pieces as you want using AI, but the music will not receive the same reaction as that of an artist who spent years honing their skills and making songs the listeners can relate to. For example, Billie Eilish’s album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” takes listeners on a journey. AI cannot take listeners on a journey because AI has not been on a journey. If anything, AI needs humans to create that journey.
AI can take photos and images off of the web to “recreate” something new, it can take vocals from well-known artists and string together lyrics to render a song in less than five minutes, and it might even reach the point of figuring out what the final number of pi is. However, all of the components provided to AI come from a human.
AI may have its perks, but no matter how useful it can be it can’t replace the authenticity of human creativity.