The whole 'AI art isn't real art because you didn't suffer for it' argument is getting old

Honestly, I keep seeing people say that making art the 'real' way means you gotta bleed for it, like spending 100 hours on a charcoal drawing is the only valid way. I was at a local gallery last month and overheard a guy telling his friend that AI users are just lazy, that they skip the struggle. But here's the thing: I've been restoring classic cars for 12 years, and I've seen people argue that using a welder instead of hammering metal by hand is 'cheating' too. Isn't the point what comes out the other end, not how much you suffered to make it? Has anyone else noticed this gatekeeping nonsense in other hobbies too?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler61mo agoTop Commenter

I mean, "gatekeeping nonsense" feels like a pretty heavy label for people just having opinions about what they like. Maybe it's just me but I've seen car guys get roasted for using a plasma cutter too and nobody calls it gatekeeping, they just think it's not as cool. Honestly who cares if some guy at a gallery thinks your robot art is lazy, you know? Like I get that it's annoying but the whole debate feels way more serious than it needs to be. People have been fighting about what 'real' art is for literally hundreds of years, this is just the latest version.

wendy_jackson1mo ago

@tyler6 but isn't that plasma cutter comparison a total apples to oranges thing though?