The author uses the terms “designer” and “artist” interchangeably. These are not the same activities at all.
Do you think they will be affected differently? (I have my own thoughts but curious to hear yours here)
I do. Design is more focused on practical problem-solving, so these AI tools are great for helping that, actually. I don't see this as a threat to these professionals at all. Yes, a design project can eventually be considered art, but this is a byproduct of the design process.
People that are invested in specific visual art roles – specially those involved in the creation of a single piece or artwork, like cover illustrators, painters, photographers, and the like – will probably be more challenged by that.
But even then, it's just too early to know the long term impacts. I think that the effects will be highly variable. I'm sure a lot of artists will thrive with these tools, using them as a springboard for their careers – or even participate in the creation of new roles and modalities in the art scene. We have to wait and see what happens.
It is certainly an earthquake for visual artists!
Illlustrators - So much of the output that I see looks like illustration more than anything. Midjourney seems to love that digital / procreate illustration style. I think this area might suffer in the years to come once the details and strange artifacts start to go away.
Painters - Used for ideation. While I'm sure there are physical tools that can mimic some sort of painting on a surface I don't see it having much impact. A lot of painting is layers, push and pull, imperfections, brush strokes and a tactile surface.
Photographers - If you're a stock photographer you will probably suffer over time. Overall though I think talented photographers are very much going to continue to work. Open up a Vogue magazine and you'll see there's a gulf between what humans are creating and what these tools are outputting.
Others - If you do cheap (not neccessarily bad) work on Fiverr you'll soon be competing with these tools for work. I would be shocked if Fiverr itself isn't investing in these tools themselves.