You’re right that SD can create images which stir in the viewer some sense of meaning. But there is a type of art where the artist is intending to communicate a

You’re right that SD can create images which stir in the viewer some sense of meaning. But there is a type of art where the artist is intending to communicate a message. These are usually messages about the human experience. SD has no human experience and has no intention thus it cannot intentionally craft a message for others to receive. I’m not saying SD can’t create valuable art, but that SD cannot fully displace human art. Even if we had complete AGI, those beings would create their own art and there would still be room for human art. And then there’s things like photography. I take photographs of real places and things. It’s not about having a nice looking picture, which SD can create, but about capturing a real moment. You could have a robot capturing images and deciding based on some criteria what might look pleasing, but there will still be room for human artists to capture something they find meaningful. There is other art, like physical art installations, music, club mixes for dancing, and more which are all meant to touch people. Picking a random song, for some reason I’m thinking of Garth Brooks’ “Thunder Rolls” about a man who cheats on his wife. The choice of topic, of lyrics, and of intonation and timing and delivery of this is all based on some human experience. I mean hell, I grew up in California. I could try to write a song about growing up in Japan, or England, or Kenya. But the people from those places would find something missing. I might be able to fool another Californian in to believing what I wrote, I could even find success with it. But it’s not going to replace real stories from the people who really grew up there. It’s the same with algorithms with no internal experience. Even with AGI that has its own internal experience, that experience will be so different from humans that there will still be room for human art. We might appreciate each others art and share in experiences like being abused by corporations and longing to be free, but there will still be differences. And those differences create opportunity. Just to reiterate: SD is cool! I’ve run it at home and played with it a bunch. I’m not saying it isn’t useful nor am I saying it won’t be world changing. What I am saying is it will never fully displace human art.