Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that allows computers and other devices to learn, read, write, and analyze. 

Many people use AI for various reasons; specifically, students may use it to get ideas, edit, or to create content such as essays. 

However, AI isn’t just used for writing, it’s also for generating images and, more recently, videos. 

Recently, AI has even gotten more realistic because it learns as people use it to generate prompts. 

As AI becomes more realistic, concerns have risen, especially with taking art-related jobs and fake videos.

“With people relying on social media and other questionable sources for news and information while doing very little fact-checking, deep fakes could potentially have profound power to influence society by impersonating world leaders or other influential figures,” art teacher, Mr. Ali Akyuz, expresses. 

With many showing their concern about how AI will affect artists, Akyuz has a different opinion: “There is something very tangible about the artists’ marks and how they impart meaning on their media that a digital image can’t replicate…Artists are great at adapting to changing technology and there is no reason for me to think this is any different.” 

It’s no secret that AI I could never replace a human creativity unless we let it. 

However, concerningly, more companies have been caught using AI to generate images. 

For example, Netflix’s Dog and Boy anime released a short three-minute clip where they used AI to create images for the background. 

According to engadget.com, the animation industry doesn’t lack artists, which has led many to believe that AI is used to avoid paying real artists. 

If we continue to use AI-generated images instead of hiring real artists, we could eventually replace artists. 

However, AI will never be able to ‘live’ up to the potential of artists because AI steals art to generate these images. 

English teacher, Mrs. Katie Bovenkerk, conveys she “[doesn’t] want the process of critical thinking to be lost when technology can generate ideas so quickly.” 

While AI can be used for bad, it has the potential to be used for good as well. 

Mr. Akyuz describes, “When artists get famous, many hire other artists to work with them in creating their artwork. Sometimes, these workers do all the work to create a given piece or series, and the artist serves as more of an editor. I see possible connections between that relationship and the human/AI relationship. They are helpers in realizing our creative vision.” 

Mrs. Spath, a Normal West English teacher, believes “[Students] that are using it to get started, to help with spelling or grammar, or to get advice on how to improve a piece of their writing, are using it for good; however it’s the students using it to replace their own thinking and claiming they’ve written something that was actually typed out from AI generation that are using it wrong.”

AI could benefit humans, but when used for malicious reasons, it could lead to dangerous situations. 

When using AI, it’s important to question if we’re using it for good or if it could potentially hurt anyone.

For instance, if you don’t have the money to commission an artist, don’t resort to AI because art is a gift, not a need.