Since the release of Sora 2, people on the internet have had mixed interpretations of whether AI usage in photos and videos has positive or negative effects on society.
Creativity has dimmed ever since AI became mainstream across all platforms. People resorted to using AI to create art or music rather than utilizing the necessary tools to develop their own creative material. Artists who have made their own works of art have been using the hashtag “No to AI Art,” as said by Verity Babbs in a HyperAllergic article about artist protests. “True art is about the creative process much more than it’s about the final piece. And simply pressing a button to generate an image is not a creative process.” As author and illustrator Rob Biddulph explains in a social media post. The use of AI to replace creativity in various artistic areas is ultimately a misguided application of AI, as it has no beneficial impact on actual artists and users of AI.
AI art does not retain the creativity that the human mind can replicate, due to it being trained on existing art created by humans. Gabriel McDonald, junior, says that it is incredibly easy to differentiate AI art from human art, showing that AI is unable to fully reproduce the skills that humans have. Alluding to another reason, AI is problematic by decreasing employment opportunities, as companies may opt for the cheaper route of using AI instead of hiring a human. This can exist in almost every category of work, such as photography, editing, cinematography, and many others.
Fake AI-generated videos presumed to be real have also been another issue that has arisen from the recent release of Sora 2. Timothy Broniarczik, junior, has expressed that AI videos are incredibly realistic now, as he has seen many videos pop up on social media apps like Tiktok and Instagram. People online have expressed their concerns regarding criminal cases: “AI-generated content is increasingly finding its way into courts, and some judges are worried that hyperrealistic fake evidence will soon flood their courtrooms and threaten their fact-finding mission,” said Jared Polo in an NBC News article regarding AI evidence in court cases. This is a significant concern, as this could change the course of how criminal cases are handled from now on. Fake AI evidence could be used for falsely accusing someone, or for someone to get away with a crime said person has committed. An example of this could be an accusation of murder, then providing an AI video as evidence.
Although AI can be bad in some instances, many people use it positively in a way to brainstorm and gain ideas. AI tools have allowed students and others to brainstorm efficiently, visualize concepts, and explore ideas that may have been difficult to come up with naturally. “I believe by using AI, whether generative or otherwise, we have the opportunity to find the language of humanity.” Said Media artist Refik Anadol, reflecting how AI can help users overcome creativity drainage or art block. AI Media can be used to function as a supportive item to increase creativity rather than replace it.
AI-generated media does offer many benefits, but its rapid growth continues to raise questions about authenticity and originality in online media. As AI tools are rapidly increasing in use around the world, regulations will be needed to protect artists and people all over the internet.
