ARTificial

AI image generators are transforming the art world,

With just a few phrases and clicks, artificial intelligence can bring any idea to life.

A happy dolphin jumping over a rainbow in outer space, in the style of Lisa Frank.

A bouquet of pastel colored flowers in a vase, realistic still life painting.

Three kittens grocery shopping in the style of Beatrix Potter. The results materialize onscreen in seconds. Humans, meanwhile, need hours, even days, to create similar output.

It’s why, lately, artists of all types are reacting with both concern and curiosity to the rapid emergence of these powerful new tools. AI text-to-image generators seemingly exploded into existence in late 2022. Two of the biggest, Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 2, offer practically anyone with web access the chance to try their hand at prompting machine-trained systems, called models, to create depictions ranging from eerie echoes of reality to wildly goofy misinterpretations. While the models have limitations, their output is at times indistinguishable from human-made art.

In response, artists are collectively calling for new legal boundaries to protect their livelihoods, especially as evidence has emerged showing massive quantities of copyrighted work were used to train Stable Diffusion’s model.

While much of the broader public conversation has been critical of AI-created imagery, several artists in the Spokane area are less concerned about it infringing on their professions.

“I personally don’t feel like I’ll be replaced, mainly because of the work I do,” says Ashley Vaughn, a multidisciplinary artist whose focuses include painting, printmaking and photography. “I guess I would have to be confronted with an [AI-generated] image that looks just like mine.

“The kind of person who would want to buy artificially generated art for the sake of it being cheaper isn’t the kind of person who would want to buy handmade artwork anyway,” Vaughn continues. “I think that people who buy handmade artwork really value it.”

With computer-generated imagery, that human connection and story behind a piece of art is just not there, she adds.

Local printmaker Chris Bovey, known for his retroinspired homages to regional landmarks through his venture Vintage Print + Neon, echoes that belief. While

Bovey uses digital tools to help design his screen prints and murals, none of his art can, of course, be made entirely on a computer.

“I don’t anticipate there being a time where it’s going to replace something handcrafted and handmade,” Bovey says. “There might be digital artists out there that [AI] could affect the livelihoods of pretty significantly — I can see the validity of that — but I think there is something tactile that people like about my work. And I don’t know if you can really replace that with a machine.”

The team at downtown Spokane design and marketing firm Maker & Made sees the introduction of generative AI tools as yet another technology to both adapt to and leverage.

“Overall, everyone on our team seems more welcoming to AI playing a part [in] our everyday life than worried about it,” Maker & Made co-founder Brittany Stodgell says in an email. “Our current mantra is ‘adapt or die.’”

Her team also recognizes how image generators could help people who otherwise can’t afford to hire a professional graphic designer.

“We hope AI will be integrated thoughtfully into our

BY CHEY SCOTT