Elephant spoke with artists who find meaning in the realness of it all, and who must now navigate creativity in the shadow of the machine.
In the name of progress, we may be erasing the imperfect fingerprints that make art human. The plague is not that AI exists, but that it is increasingly treated as a shortcut to finding meaning. What was once born out of deep patience, struggle, and feeling like an outsider is now often replaced by prompts fed to a machine that cannot feel or dream or paint.
On one hand, the technology promises speed, convenience, and a near limitless pool of references. On the other, it risks hollowing out the very soul of creative work. The danger is not simply that artists are being replaced, but that audiences are being numbed. Art has always been more than a product; it is an act of presence and a form of resistance. When images and words are generated without lived experience behind them, they may dazzle for a moment, yet they rarely linger and almost seem comical. So, how do working artists feel about AI becoming a huge part of daily life?
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT AI IN ART, WHAT IS YOUR GUT REACTION?
I feel disappointed. But also hopeful because I believe it’s a tool for the weak; it is a terminal illness that was doomed from inception. When AI clears the art world, as the hype and stamina surely fade, the people who can still make a picture or write a poem will remain. They will be rare and coveted. Original thought and skill will always prevail. — Sara Rabin, artist and illustrator
It is both a mirror and a distortion tool. It can surface subconscious ideas quickly, but it can also flatten context if it’s used without care. My gut reaction is curiosity mixed with caution. — S. McKinley Akins, videographer and mixed media artist
Using AI to “make art” defeats the whole point of the process, which is the expression of human experience. There are exceedingly few use cases, like Damon Packard or Jon Rafman, where their existing artistic process are mediated through the generative-AI medium, and the results are interesting. But just because it can make a picture doesn’t mean it’s making art. — Emerson Rosenthal, screenwriter
Most of it is bad; it only really makes sense when it leans into the fantasy and uncanny real. The realism and fakeness leave a bad taste in my mouth, but when it’s supposed to feel unnerving and give you a reaction, I can dig it! — Ambar Navarro, director
I don’t think I fully understand AI. My relationship with computers or computer technologies is that I don’t get it, I don’t appreciate it, and I don’t want to spend time with it. I would rather make pickles or dye fabrics than play with a computer. That being said, I have never used AI for my creative process. Fortunately, as a potter, AI won’t make my art or practice better or convenient. — Shino Takeda, sculptor
I often encounter a knee-jerk refusal to engage with any creative pursuit that utilizes modern AI to achieve something that could have been far more powerful if this technology had been avoided. Human quirks will always be much more interesting to me. I’m not even remotely attracted to anything that has been watered down or polished in such a way that allows the creator to hide behind some sort of digital mask. I can’t help but ask, who is this piece of art being made for? Why not embrace your limitations? Isn’t that what makes you who you are? Is it truly better now? This thing? Is it even art anymore? What is art anyway? I thought it was something humans made. — Medar De La Cruz, Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator
AI helps speed up superficial learning; it’s helpful in that we can cursorily glean information packaged legibly on any given subject. — Alex Berns, gallerist
Eh, boring. Novelty shortcut. I don’t care about it. I had fun messing around with it for 20 minutes when it first rolled out, made a few pics, and dropped it. I liked them enough superficially, but who cares? I doubt that anybody who has spent any significant amount of time ‘making things’ will disagree that it’s the making part (not the things) that holds the value — putting yourself in front of the world, getting weird and vulnerable, failing hard and often. Anyway, I don’t wanna get carried away. I don’t care at all if anybody else uses it. It just does nothing for me. Not interesting. — Daniel Arnold, photographer
The question is, what do I really know about AI art? This gut reaction needed to be followed up with some exploration, to be honest. — Tamika Rivera, multidisciplinary artist and activist
I don’t like most of what I’m seeing so far, except for a lot of really good memes, and I like the AI-Da or Sophia Robots. Erosion of privacy: Constant data collection — through devices, apps, cameras — normalizes surveillance. Power imbalances: Those who control AI systems (governments, corporations) gain disproportionate leverage over individuals. Chilling effects: When people know they’re being monitored, creativity, dissent, and free expression often shrink. — Zoë Argires, painter
HAVE YOU PERSONALLY USED AI IN YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? IF SO, HOW DID IT CHANGE THE WAY YOU WORK, AND IF NOT, WHY HAVE YOU AVOIDED IT?
No. I tried it once for help with story research, and it immediately started lying, making up facts to satisfy its prompts (and not my actual need for facts). — Emerson
I’ve used AI-generated voiceovers for narration, to build tension, and create a layer of detachment in my video work. It’s allowed me to play with language and delivery in ways that would be difficult or cost-prohibitive otherwise. However, I still see it as one element in a much larger toolkit at the moment anyway. — S. McKinley
I have never used AI in my creative process. I avoid it because I know it’s damaging to me, my artist peers, and future artists. I do not want to participate in training on a piece of equipment that I am certain will cause me harm in the future. Why would I give away any part of my creative process to be poorly repurposed and choked out by a machine? — Sara
I have only used it to improve my text when writing treatments. Although I don’t use it often, I only turn to it when I am at a full-on desperation block on how to phrase things better. — Ambar
When I think about AI, I believe that there is no way AI can take over the art world. Maybe AI succeeds in “making” art, but it will never truly touch people’s hearts. Art is the accumulation of life, a reflection of the artist’s mind, thoughts, feelings, and philosophy. Therefore, even if AI gathers information and attempts to create something, it will never be truly unique or special. But maybe I’m being naive… — Shino
We are all using AI all the time, whether we want to or not. It’s happening right now as I’m writing the response to this question. My grammar is being checked, and I’m being prompted to see if I’m sure I want to use my own words. Yes, I would like to use my voice. Honestly, I never really avoided AI. I had never considered AI as a tool for my art practice. My work has always been connected to the human experience, my ancestors, emotional exchange through community, and the connection to the materials I’m physically working with. — Tamika
Short-form video platforms like Reels impair the brain’s reward system more severely than alcohol, according to recent neuroscientific studies. I’ve used GPT to help organize written outlines, and I’ve also used AI image generation for concept renderings in project proposals. It’s helpful in those ways and hasn’t otherwise affected my work. — Zoë
I use it by accident every time I Google something. It’s built into Photoshop now, too, so it erases my acne. Thanks, AI. — Daniel
I’ve avoided it because I’d rather go outside and sit on a bench and just look at real life and analyze the things around me. Auto-correct is about as far as I’ll go with using AI for a creative pursuit, and even that pisses me off sometimes, too. I’m at the point of avoidance where I’ve deleted all of my social media accounts and gotten rid of my smartphone. Call me an extremist, but I’m just not interested. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t messed around with it and sent some extremely wordy emails for the sake of seeming professional. I doubt they did anything for me. But I draw the line when I draw a line. As a visual artist, I enjoy my imperfections. — Medar
WHAT’S THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GIFT, OR THE BIGGEST DANGER, THAT AI BRINGS TO THE FUTURE OF ART?
The technology has a long way to go before we should even be calling it “intelligence.” Still, this iteration of “AI” is not fit for extended human consumption because it convinces people that they are more intelligent and more capable than they are. — Emerson
The ability to generate and iterate ideas almost instantly is a blessing for more than just art. The danger is that creatives, and people in general, lean on it too heavily and lose critical thinking skills. Work also risks becoming stripped of the imperfections that make it human. — S. McKinley
AI models, at least ones available to me, don’t have more data than is readily available on the internet. So if you’re going to draw any conclusions from its findings, factor in that any private or privy information is not going to be reflected. — Alex
Does using AI enable people who are not naturally creative to become more creative? Without discipline…? Without thinking..? Without real experience..? If that sounds convenient and good to you, then that can be the greatest gift. The danger is greater if we rely too much on it. If we focus solely on convenience and stop thinking and struggling, we risk stalling our evolution. Inconvenience and detour are great essence for art, and also for life. — Shino
AI is tricky. It’s a slippery slope. How we use it responsibly in the future is up to humanity. The danger lies in AI not being able to replicate the human experience in art, and society not knowing the difference. Eventually, will AI be used as a tool for the artist or as a replacement for the artist? It is up to all of us to move toward ethical AI practices and guidelines, make conscious choices, and use critical thinking to connect with one another. I support and respect the right of individual artists to create and express themselves in any way they choose. It’s up to the artist themselves to ask the questions of how and in what context they are choosing to use AI to express their most authentic self. It is up to the collective artist community to challenge the roles AI will play in the future and how it will serve to sustain our roles in society. The danger of AI in art in the future is being complacent in its usage, not being involved in the process, and not asking the questions of the human experience in the work. AI is not going anywhere, and it is the role of the artist community to stay open, connected, and look deeper into one’s human experience to expose the truths. — Tamika
The most significant gift that AI brings to the future of art is the ability to separate the real from the fake. As time goes on, the folks who rely on AI will be easily filtered out, and the ones who remain will only be that much more empowered by their refusal to give in to such exploitative means of creation. The most significant dangers that AI brings are environmental and psychological. The energy consumption of AI is destroying our limited resources, and the reliance on this empty tool is lowering the standards of what the next generation of artists will consider great art. All that being said, I have a small sliver of blind faith in the youth to gravitate towards things that still feel relatable in a human way. — Medar
If there’s a gift that AI offers to artists, it’s to help them adapt to the speed of the market, like for making proposals with concept renderings, which can save a lot of time, or administrative things like that. I never use it to create art because that’s a human activity! I believe some artists will devise innovative ways to utilize AI in their respective creative processes. Ultimately, Artificial Intelligence is a single system that can monitor millions, adjust narratives in real time, and do so without clear human accountability. — Zoë
What’s the biggest danger of paint by number, karaoke, drink and draw? Art is making something, not having it. — Daniel
The gift will be to the number of artists who remain producing their original work, despite possibly evoking responses such as “well, AI could do that”. But it didn’t. And because of the name, personality, spirit, history, heart, and humanity of the artist, their work will ascend. It will conquer the trash that AI is already polluting the sphere with. The people who enjoy and support AI art are the ones who deserve to suffer it. I am not afraid, and that is a gift. — Sara
Written by Jo Rosenthal
