As an artist, I think it is a net negative for us. Disregarding the copyright issue, I think it’s also consolidating power into large corporations, going to kill learning fundamental skills (rip next generation of artists), and turn the profession into a low skill minimum wage job. Artists that spent years learning and perfecting their skills will be worth nothing and I think it’s a pretty depressing future for us. Anways thoughts?
I agree that this is a worse problem under capitalism, but hypothetically under socialism, would there be UBI? (As I understand it, UBI is antithetical to socialism, as it gives all your power to the state). Or would artists get a cut of $ for every generated image (as it is currently, no artists are paid or part of these AI companies).
The precise inner workings of a future fully communist society will be determined through trial and error and trying to imagine them is utopian. Though we can start to think about art under the dictatorship of the proletariat. In my opinion it is reasonable to envision the practice of art as a profession the same way we manage academic research, with autonomous institutions that pay salaries to students and professors so they continue practicing their discipline both freely and with excellence.
Of course amateur art should also be made as accessible as possible