That's it. The position.

Watching someone have a full-body, ALL CAPS moral outrage about AI not being real art . . . while their entire position boils down to . . . you just wrote a prompt.

That’s it. That’s their position.

This ignores intent, iteration, skill, curation, taste, context, lived experience, interpretation and ironically human judgement.

This is just another example of discomfort with a shift in who gets to participate. And history is very clear on how these outrages age.

This isn’t new. 

🙋‍♀️ 1970s

Harold Cohen created AARON, a system that autonomously generated drawings and paintings. No prompts. Rule-based machine creativity, decades ago.

🙋‍♀️ 1990s

Karl Sims used genetic algorithms and artificial life systems to evolve images, virtual creatures and behaviours. Artists setting conditions, not outcomes.

🙋‍♀️ 2000s

Casey Reas helped a generation of artists think algorithmically. Not AI as we frame it today, but absolutely the cultural groundwork.

🙋‍♀️ 2010s

Mario Klingemann explored neural networks for portraiture and generative aesthetics. Memories of Passersby I (2018) generates new faces endlessly, in real time.

🙋‍♀️ 2010s

Sougwen Chung trained AI on her own drawing gestures and co-painted with robotic arms. The art is the relationship, not just the output.

🙋‍♀️ 2010s

Refik Anadol uses large-scale datasets and machine learning to create immersive installs in museums, architecture, public space. AI as atmosphere.

🙋‍♀️ 2020s

Niceaunties uses generative AI to build narrative worlds that challenge age, gender and cultural stereotypes or culturally literate, socially pointed, AI-native storytelling.

TL:DR

Is the debate about whether AI can make art? Or about who we’re comfortable letting change in. History does suggest resistance is loud at first and eventually forgotten. To the creators using these tools: How much intent and iteration goes into your work that the average 'it’s just a prompt' critic never sees?

IMAGE CREDIT: Niceaunties: preserving and reimagining the Auntie Archetype through AI, surrealism and social commentary