AI Artists Have No Role Models

Now before I begin, I don't mean to preach to the choir here. Folks who already have an anti-AI sentiment do not need further discourse points on the harms and detriment of the current state of generative AI. No, this article is written in good faith for those who enjoy using AI, for those who would even go so far as to label themselves an AI artist, or perhaps just an AI-assisted artist.

You see, if you ask anybody who is pro-generative AI about their workflow, they will most likely passionately tell you about their back-and-forths with their AI model, which they most likely will humanize and anthropomorphize to an unsettling degree. Regardless of if they're an AI visual artist, an AI musician, an AI writer, there is a commonality shared. You'll hear about the technicalities, the switching between different models, the tweaking of prompts, but there is one thing you will not hear.

Their intake of AI-generated art. They will not be able to list off their influences in their field and medium of choice. In truth, they may even struggle to point to a single piece of AI-generated art that they enjoy.

It is difficult not to see this as an existential problem, right? I believe anybody with a rich, meaningful life can easily point to media that has shaped and pushed them into their passions. To go even further, I believe most people can easily point to media that has changed their life or who they fundamentally are as a person. This is human-made art. This *has* to be human-made art.

Viewing art increases blood flow in the brain by up to 10%. [Equivalent to looking at someone you love](https://affordableartfair.com/inspiration/psychology-art-human-connection-guide/). Art is shared experience between artist and audience [that fundamentally changes us](https://alephcontemporary.com/blog/57-how-contemporary-art-reflects-the-human-condition-examining-how-contemporary-artists-portray-human-experiences/).

An artist and creator who is serious about their work, who enjoys their work, is somebody who greatly consumes the art created by others. Every form of media has role models, has influential creators that have shaped entire subcultures and the zeitgeist. The very concept of artistic lineage, which is defined as the historical and conceptual [connections between artists across generations, is fundamental to understanding any creative field](https://library.fiveable.me/key-terms/theories-and-methods-of-art-history/artistic-lineage). Artists inherit/reinterpret/challenge the traditions of those who came before them, [establishing a continuity of ideas, styles, and techniques](https://www.johnwalter.net/evolutionoftheartisticcanon/index.html). Artistic canon emerges from sustained attention across generations. [Works that are repeatedly shown, written about,