WHY TAKE THIS CLASS WHEN AI WILL BE DOING THIS SOON?

It feels like advancements in AI image creation have come leaps and bounds over the last few months.  Adobe has continued to incorporate it in each of it's updates of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro.  They are offering Ai generated imagery and video creation through their Firefly application and there are so many other choices as well.   The image below was created using Adobe's online AI image creator and it looks good.... not perfect, but, definitely, good.  So, the question of the day is... Why should I take a class in Graphic Design or Film Production when AI will be able to make a good movie or create an amazing photorealistic image within the year?  That's a good question considering the fact that many of you may never make a movie or create a work of digital art the moment you leave this class.  There are still some good reasons for you to be here.

The first and most important reason is that this class will give you a better understanding of what AI technology is doing when it draws from various pre-existing works and creates a "new" image out of them.  In this class you will be learning how to composite imagery  yourself and to create something new.  This information will help you be an informed citizen in a world that is becoming increasingly confusing.  Truth will soon be hard to spot and while "a picture may be worth a thousand words, " we will soon be charged with the responsibility of deciphering whether those words are lies or truths.  If you look closely at the two images below, there are clues that help a trained eye tell which is real and which is fake.  

Secondly, many of you will be tempted to use online applications to automatically create designs for print or digital media.  Many of them will do the bulk of the work for you and, often, it will look pretty good.  If you need to throw together a quick post for social media or make a flyer for cheer tryouts, this is an excellent option.  I use these tools myself and I think that there is a place for them.  However, it is important to note that many of these applications draw on a set of pre-existing templates that can be assembled in multiple ways.  While the same elements can be assembled to  create new designs, ultimately this form of design leads to design work that is uninspired and monochromatic.  Additionally, it's important to remember that you are using the work of designers who created the elements you are drawing from... and someone has to do that job.

That leads to my final point.  AI is trained on the work of HUMAN artists who have mastered their craft and gained a certain level of success.  Without this information, AI would be unable to accomplish the quality of work that it has to this point.  While, to a certain extent, human brains do often create derivative work, the complex structure of our minds and the imperfections of our bodies almost always results in a new and innovative product.  For now, original work is still coming from human brains and bodies.  For now, we still need artists with intention, helping the world to understand it's own experience.