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Comment by hectorlorenzo | Hacker News Reader

There is something off about this argument. On one hand, you say "Humans derive a lot from process, not the final product", which I completely agree. But you also say "places like ArtStation get flooded with AI generated images", which seems to indicate there is a focus on showing off the final product.

I make pottery, and my pieces suck (in terms of shape, usability, even stability) compared to ones made by professional artists or in a factory. I cannot make two similar mugs for the life of me. But it is the process I enjoy, the learning, the improving. And the nice community I've built around me that shares the same passion.

Maybe I'm underestimating the power of text-to-image, but people still learn how to play the guitar (despite Ableton), or chess (despite Stockfish), or sculpture (despite 3D printing).

My honest question is: why should this time be different?

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You've posed a lot of questions, which I won't address. When it comes to "focus on showing off the final product" I don't think there is anything off here.

First of all there is the professional aspect of it. People just have to market themselves to get jobs. ArtStation (its predecessors actually) eradicated the new to have a portfolio website. It's THE place to host your work.

Then there is the need for validation. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be appreciated for your accomplishments. That's just one of our needs.

Community aspect is also important. People want to get better and they want to learn from others. Showing your work and exposing it to scrutiny or inspiring others is perfectly fine.

Lastly, I've never said that we derive EVERYTHING from the process. Final result is also important. It's just meaningless without the process, imo.

I agree with all your points and I struggle to see how AI-generated imagery will change any of this. I honesty believe that people will still appreciate (or criticise, or ignore) your work and communities will still be formed around "traditional" artists.

As for the professional aspect of it, yes, designers, illustrators, copywriters, programmers will see their work deeply changed by this technology, to an extend that I do not understand at all. I share your worries in that front.

Well I’m just responding to the process vs final result, which I think you called inconsistent. Maybe I didn’t get what you were trying to say there though.

I also think that it actually might affect the way we value art. I’d need to spend a bit more time thinking about it but even on a surface level it seems that if we devalue something then people might not engage with it in the same way. We actually live in an age when the internet (and many other things) are destroying communities, and I do not think that online communities can feel that void. We need people around yet we push everyone away. Tech is a huge culprit in that. We need to be creative yet we build evidence we’re not that special or creative. Who knows many we actually are special and we’ll survive this.

I think there’s a lot to deconstruct here and I don’t think I’m prepared to write it down in a good way right now.

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