Artificial intelligence has been a threat to many for a long time now, but recently it has had a lot of noticeable growth in terms of how accessible AI tools have become. Many of these tools and resources, many of which can be easily accessed online, allow people to use AI to come up with creative ideas, or to create ‘original’ pieces of digital art, and it seems that people within creative industries are beginning to wake up to the possible threats that AI holds when it comes to the originality and authenticity of art. It’s no secret that this development is slightly alarming, but what do upcoming artists actually think? 

Jayan Duggal is an eighteen-year-old art student who plans on going into creative direction for fashion and has always had a strong passion for the industry: “Growing up I used to obsessively watch Alexander McQueen's fashion shows on YouTube, every single day, basically. All of them are so distinct and so career-defining for him, and I aspire to have that kind of image of my work.”

When asked about his opinions on the recent rise of AI creating digital art, Jayan made it clear that he felt that artificial intelligence is not capable of creating art in the same way as humans are, since art requires a deep emotional aspect to become what it is, and artificial intelligence is incapable of replicating this. “AI ‘art’, is not real art, because I feel like one of the core elements of what makes art what it is is humanity, and like, the thought process and the making process as well. I feel like the production process is one of the most important parts of making a successful artwork.” 

 “I would say art is like a child, so much effort and so much heart goes into art, and obviously AI art can’t do that, because it’s not a person.” To a young artist like Jayan, art is extremely valuable, and it seems that artists value and cherish their work more than artificial intelligence will ever be able to, which puts AI at a disadvantage from which it will never be able to compensate for. 

AI’s ability to create detailed pieces of art could be something which affects the futures of other artists, especially those who are young and just beginning their careers within creative industries. “I think because AI art is something that's so rapidly growing, and everybody knows about it now, there's definitely a possibility that it’s going to affect, not only people's livelihoods, because it's taking jobs basically, but their kind of self-esteem as well, because I feel like it's disheartening to feel like you’re being replaced by technology.” While AI isn’t something that young artists feel totally threatened by yet, due to AI’s inability to replicate the fundamental necessity to any piece of art: human emotion, it is certainly something to contemplate.