As generative AI continues to advance rapidly, giving rise to tools that can create artwork from a simple prompt, the future of the art industry is in question. For some, it is an opportunity to maximise their creativity; for others, it is a threat to their livelihood.
Experts and artists are torn over what the future of the sector might look like and how it will impact the pricing of art as highly advanced AI tools continue to seep their way into the mainstream, allowing almost anyone with access to create artwork.
One such tool is OpenAI’s DALLE-2, an AI-powered system that can create just about any image or piece of art – some of which are quite realistic – based on a detailed description given to it by its users.
Tools like DALLE-2 are capable of generating impressive visuals in almost any desired style, ranging from old photographs to Picasso-style digital paintings. However, these AI platforms have been trained on extensive datasets of art archives in images and text without the prior consent of artists, thereby creating a conundrum that blurs the distinction between art, technology and copyright law. This poses a major intellectual property problem and a very unclear legal landscape.
According to the CEO and owner of Dubai-based Mestaria Gallery, Peter Goodwin, AI-generated art will “inevitably create uncertainty” among traditional and digital artists in the short-term. Despite this, he expects that it will “simply join a set of rapidly developing creative tools, in the same way that artists have innovated across the centuries.”
“Rather than replacing traditional or digital artists, AI can serve as a complementary tool for them to enhance their creativity and output,” he told Arabian Business.
“Throughout history, artists have constantly adapted and evolved in response to new tools and technologies. In my thoughts, AI-generated art tools and platforms represent the latest innovation in a long line of creative advancements and have the potential to reshape the way we approach art-making and appreciation in the future.”
He compared this shift in the industry to that of the 15th century, when oil paint was invented, allowing artists to create more vibrant and detailed works. This then led to the development of realistic paintings such as the works of Flemish painter Jan van Eyck during the Renaissance in the 16th Century.
Then, many centuries later in the 1980s, artists were able to experiment with digital art and new forms of expression through computer-generated art, imagery and active installations.
“Digital artists such as Cory Arcangel and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer have used technology to push the boundaries of traditional art forms and create immersive experiences for viewers,” Goodwin added.
But Edward Gallagher, Managing Director of Galloire, believes that Generative AI and DALLE-2 becoming widely accessible to non-artists will not change anything.
“Just as anyone can go and buy canvas and paints, just because anyone can now access DALLE-2, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion or the like, it does not mean the prices of art will be impacted by that access,” he told Arabian Business.
“Putting a million more AI artworks for sale does not mean the market wants to or will buy them, just as it is with paintings, sculpture or other types of artworks.”
“Then we get into the debate about what makes it “art.” Before that, ultimately what decides the price of art is the market.
“It is about supply and demand, plus what the market and individuals are prepared to pay for an artwork,” Gallagher added.
Pricing of traditional art in question
The potential for increased competition, due to the advent of AI-generated art, could impact pricing and exacerbate uncertainty in the market for traditional art, Goodwin said.
“As AI-generated art becomes more accessible and sophisticated, it may attract new buyers who are drawn to its novelty and affordability. This could potentially affect the market demand and pricing of traditional art, leading to uncertainty among artists and galleries, more through option saturation than direct competition,” he explained.
Will Laslett, Head of Design and Development at United Visual Artists and an artist at Galloire, told Arabian Business that he expects AI to have a negative impact on many artists in the industry, but some might be set to gain from it.
“In the current state of AI I do expect that many artists and creatives in certain ‘styles’ or mediums of art will be displaced or crowded out of the market, or will at least see their ability to make an income diminished, as I believe is already starting to happen in certain niches.
“It may be however that some of the negative impact on the value in certain niches of art is transferred as a positive impact to others. At least until the capabilities of AI continue to grow, as you might presume they will, to encompass ever more human abilities.”
However, Gallagher believes that AI-generated art will not have much of an impact.
“As supply increases, of course one expects demand to be satisfied and prices to fall. But how much will the supply of truly great art and artists increase as a result of access to this medium? I would suggest not so much that it’ll have a huge negative bearing on the prices of the standout artists and creators – regardless of the medium they create with,” said Gallagher
“Someone will pay millions for a David Hockney painting whereas a painting by another artist may be “worth” only thousands of dollars. That artist may have been a painter as long as Hockney, may have the same training and qualifications, and the painting may have taken the artist as long to create. Price is all about how the artist is perceived by the market and then if in demand, what supply is available,” Gallagher added.
New market segment on the horizon?
Though “difficult to predict” because AI’s impact on the pricing of art is still a relatively new concept to consider, Goodwin believes that it could create an entirely new market segment with its own pricing structure.
“The value of AI-generated art could be determined by factors such as the complexity of the algorithms used, the level of human involvement, and the perceived quality of the output,” Goodwin said.
“It can create a new market segment, attracting new buyers and increasing overall interest in art. This can benefit traditional artists as well, leading to increased demand for artwork overall.”
Although generative AI platforms like MidJourney and DALLE-2 are accessible to anyone with an account, the value of such works may lack the “originality” that comes with the “human touch,” Goodwin added.
“If you’ve tried to create [AI art]work or seen the output, in almost all cases it has an ethereal, dystopian, and otherworldly feel with an obvious synthetic appearance.”
While that may be true today, AI has the ability to learn from experience and improve but adjusting to new inputs to better perform human-like tasks, such as creating art, so it could respond to prompts more accurately and effectively in a few years’ time.
“This doesn’t take from some pretty incredible capabilities that will of course adapt in time, but it does distance the work from human imperfections and expression that really do underpin the greatest artworks.”
One feature that sets platforms like DALLE-2 apart from traditional and other forms of digital art is their ability to replicate the style of renowned artists with (somewhat) accuracy. For instance, users can request a portrait of an animal in the style of a Van Gogh oil painting, and DALLE-2 will generate four unique options for the user to choose from and download.
“AI has already become part of artists’ toolboxes but, just as with the camera or digital image editing before it, I don’t believe that AI processes will supplant the need for human creative direction,” artist at Dubai’s Galloire, Anne Spalter, told Arabian Business.
“This technology is developing so fast, in two or three more years, when we put it together with a brilliant artist’s imagination, what they are creating with it is going to be even more incredible,” said Gallagher.
He also believes that the onset of these tools could mean the digital medium (including AI) will become more broadly accepted in galleries.
“You will see more galleries consider putting artists using those mediums onto their roster. As you’ll see, we are way ahead of that wave with our artists [at Galloire], as we find that aspect of our contemporary life a fascinating thing for art to explore.
“This should, in turn, cascade into the traditional art collector audience being more open to art of this nature – as we have seen happen with art movements in the past as well as with various mediums such as photography and video art. What has already been very positive in recent years is a whole new audience coming to art collecting – many of whom felt excluded or disengaged by the traditional art world.
“It is something that is going to change many aspects of day-to-day life and many jobs or industries around us, thus to blindly resist it without exploration seems ill-advised,” Gallagher added, encouraging artists to explore AI and use it where it makes sense in their practice.
Besides creating artwork within seconds, he believes there will be other uses for AI in the art world.
“AI can be used – and is already to some extent – to help collectors make more informed decisions about the price to pay for an artwork, both looking historically and projecting out into the future,” he said.
“A range of AI tools can deliver a lot of broader efficiencies for galleries and artists behind the scenes. Think of removing lots of the manual processes which absorb a lot of time or even the significant environmental and cost benefits of an AI making shipping more efficient – a big factor in the industry.”
But what makes it art?
Though AI has made some impressive strides in the art realm with its ability to create stunning and often ultra-realistic pieces, what sets AI-generated apart from other art created with other mediums and what qualifies as true art?
“It is an impossible question to define what makes something art, or great art, but its ability to evoke a response and relationship from and with the audience is a critical component,” said Gallagher.
“I don’t believe it is about how long it takes to make an artwork, where you graduated – if you have an MFA or not, or what medium you are working with or how that manifests in the end – whether a painting on canvas or a digital sculpture.
The greatest artists, he believes, are somehow able to be highly skilled with their preferred medium, be it clay, paint or a camera, but also have an ability to transfer their concept and emotion into a final artwork in a way that is translatable for the viewer to understand.
“For hundreds of years, when anything new comes along in art, everyone is up in arms saying: “that’s not art.” When abstract expressionism came to the fore, the traditionalists were dismissive and the average layman was saying: “my kid could have painted that.” The same has been the case when any new medium has started pushing its way through and digital art, which has been around since the 1960’s, and AI art since around the 1990’s, is on that journey,” Gallagher said.
Art is valued largely on the “creation of the human mind, in all its eccentricities and what it reflects in us,” said Laslett.
“We, being human, and so inherently self-interested in what it is to be human, will always value this and so I think art which uses AI to fundamentally supplant parts of the creative process, or which is even ‘intellectually’ wholly conceived by AI, will to a certain extent be limited in how much of the field it occupies.”
Goodwin believes that not all AI-generated art is “devoid of emotional content or creative expression,” because any output from these platforms requires input and the “human mastery” of AI tools.
“AI-generated art can be seen as a new form of artistic expression, one that is unique in its own way. It should not be judged solely on its ability to replicate traditional art forms, but on its ability to challenge our perceptions and expectations of what art is and can be,” Goodwin said.
“It is easy to be pessimistic, but history has shown a history of augmentation rather than diminution follows exploration and innovation. AI generated art and associated tools and platforms should be embraced, not feared. Who knows what might be possible?” he added.
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