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He said he's trying assuage his friends' concerns that artists are obsolete. Ie op agrees that artists are not obsolete.

by cdrini 2y ago

uludag 2y ago
I think there's a condition though. That if they learn generative AI tools then they won't be obsolete. If op was just of the view that there's nothing special about generative AI, then the post would read very different.
- cdrini 2y ago
  I think they think that generative AI might help give his artist friends a competitive edge against other artists, which would help make them more hirable, hence assuaging their concerns of obsolescence. My guess would be OP thinks generative AI won't make artists obsolete, but might make being an artist more competitive. But I reckon we're just speculating on their internal state.
52-6F-62 2y ago
Obsolete for what purpose? I dont think any aspiring artist, professional or otherwise, was ever deeply concerned about their future prospects in creating corporate graphics or mechanical pop songs. It was a fast buck, that’s all. Attempting to seduce them into committing ever more of their creative efforts in the service of a machine that only seeks to churn out more artifacts misses the entire point of ever starting, and especially continuing, an artistic practice of any kind. The entire purpose is in the act of creating and the efforts involved in honing a craft that entirely relies on your commitment. It doesn’t get any simpler or less pretentious. The road to mastery is the entire bloody point. Trying to encourage your own friends to short circuit that only serves in getting you to the artifact faster, and in the process neglects anything of any value from the entire process. Is that really being a friend? Unless you think the only thing that matters here is the artifact. Then you’re lost.
- achenet 2y ago
  I'm an amateur musical artist and writer of literature, and while I agree with you on the importance of the creative act - fundamentally speaking, I've come to accept that my music practice, like a good diet and exercise routine and spending quality time with loved ones, is just something I have to do if I want to be truly happy - I disagree that artifacts don't matter. I think that in my case, and I suspect the case of many of people, one of the most rewarding things is someone connecting with a piece that I made and having it greatly improve their lives. I can understand wanting to optimize the process of creating artifacts in order to have more people thanking you for making their day/week/month/year with your art ^_^ The road to mastery, while yes there is that whole spiritual journey aspect of mastering yourself via mastering a craft, is also supposed to end in a place where you have the skills to give joy to people via your art. Via making something that they'll love, be it a painting, a song, or some software. Wanting to optimize this not only makes sense, but is probably part of the process of mastering the craft. It is for me in any case, I do give a fair amount of thought to how I can improve my creation velocity when I make music, drawing inspiration from artists like JuL and Lex Luger who are known for their ability to rapidly compelling new tracks.
  - libertine 2y ago
    > I think that in my case, and I suspect the case of many of people, one of the most rewarding things is someone connecting with a piece that I made and having it greatly improve their lives The way you said this makes me think you agree with OP. The piece that You made is the embodiment of your experience, which can connect with someone at a certain level. It's you, the piece is just the end result. Could you do the same with an AI music generator where you input a prompt? Maybe the same amount of people would connect with it, but are you as an artist connected with it? Does that prompt embody your expression? I doubt it.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- libertine 2y ago
  You're on point. A good exercise anyone can do is to question why X or Y artists became a reference at a certain time. You end up finding out it was about: the historical context, cultural disruption, influence during or after their life, consistency in pursuing their artistic expression... the list goes on. In some cases the final outcome, the artifact, is "cool" on its own without the context, but in all cases, it's the artist that makes their body of work valuable and "cool". Technology at the service of artists has played its role in new media and different ways to work with it, but it's mainly as a tool.

He said he's trying assuage his friends' concerns that artists are obsolete. Ie op agrees that artists are not obsolete.

by cdrini 2y ago

He said he's trying assuage his friends' concerns that artists are obsolete. Ie op agrees that artists are not obsolete.

uludag 2y ago

I think there's a condition though. That if they learn generative AI tools then they won't be obsolete. If op was just of the view that there's nothing special about generative AI, then the post would read very different.

cdrini 2y ago
I think they think that generative AI might help give his artist friends a competitive edge against other artists, which would help make them more hirable, hence assuaging their concerns of obsolescence. My guess would be OP thinks generative AI won't make artists obsolete, but might make being an artist more competitive. But I reckon we're just speculating on their internal state.

52-6F-62 2y ago

Obsolete for what purpose? I dont think any aspiring artist, professional or otherwise, was ever deeply concerned about their future prospects in creating corporate graphics or mechanical pop songs. It was a fast buck, that’s all. Attempting to seduce them into committing ever more of their creative efforts in the service of a machine that only seeks to churn out more artifacts misses the entire point of ever starting, and especially continuing, an artistic practice of any kind. The entire purpose is in the act of creating and the efforts involved in honing a craft that entirely relies on your commitment. It doesn’t get any simpler or less pretentious. The road to mastery is the entire bloody point. Trying to encourage your own friends to short circuit that only serves in getting you to the artifact faster, and in the process neglects anything of any value from the entire process. Is that really being a friend? Unless you think the only thing that matters here is the artifact. Then you’re lost.

achenet 2y ago
I'm an amateur musical artist and writer of literature, and while I agree with you on the importance of the creative act - fundamentally speaking, I've come to accept that my music practice, like a good diet and exercise routine and spending quality time with loved ones, is just something I have to do if I want to be truly happy - I disagree that artifacts don't matter. I think that in my case, and I suspect the case of many of people, one of the most rewarding things is someone connecting with a piece that I made and having it greatly improve their lives. I can understand wanting to optimize the process of creating artifacts in order to have more people thanking you for making their day/week/month/year with your art ^_^ The road to mastery, while yes there is that whole spiritual journey aspect of mastering yourself via mastering a craft, is also supposed to end in a place where you have the skills to give joy to people via your art. Via making something that they'll love, be it a painting, a song, or some software. Wanting to optimize this not only makes sense, but is probably part of the process of mastering the craft. It is for me in any case, I do give a fair amount of thought to how I can improve my creation velocity when I make music, drawing inspiration from artists like JuL and Lex Luger who are known for their ability to rapidly compelling new tracks.
- libertine 2y ago
  > I think that in my case, and I suspect the case of many of people, one of the most rewarding things is someone connecting with a piece that I made and having it greatly improve their lives The way you said this makes me think you agree with OP. The piece that You made is the embodiment of your experience, which can connect with someone at a certain level. It's you, the piece is just the end result. Could you do the same with an AI music generator where you input a prompt? Maybe the same amount of people would connect with it, but are you as an artist connected with it? Does that prompt embody your expression? I doubt it.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
libertine 2y ago
You're on point. A good exercise anyone can do is to question why X or Y artists became a reference at a certain time. You end up finding out it was about: the historical context, cultural disruption, influence during or after their life, consistency in pursuing their artistic expression... the list goes on. In some cases the final outcome, the artifact, is "cool" on its own without the context, but in all cases, it's the artist that makes their body of work valuable and "cool". Technology at the service of artists has played its role in new media and different ways to work with it, but it's mainly as a tool.