My AI Could Create That

This post is named after a 2007 documentary, My Kid Could Paint That, about a 5-year-old who was declared an art prodigy. The documentary is named after the stubborn sentiment that some or much of what we see in art museums does not require skill. "My AI Could Create That" is the newest withering refrain encircling artists making art. Artists have been told, in so many ways, that their contributions to the world don't amount to a whole heck of a lot.

Arts and humanities disciplines have long suffered rebuke from STEM-minded communities. There was a brief advocacy for STEAM education — integrating arts instruction along science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — the liberal arts have declined in mainstream accord. As the percentage of students in each major has shifted, cultural narratives around value and values have rebuked arts and humanities-based endeavors all together. "Learn to code" has become a widespread insult/exhortation to anyone finding themselves on the wrong side of the job market.

But why do we have this distinction at all? Not only are people of all majors at times under- and over-employed.

Arts and underpayment are so categorically intertwined that it's the mindless joke of many — and yet art generates a trillion dollars a year in the United States, representing 4.4% of our economy! For the most part, that money is not going to the artists. (See also: our July 2023 post on the Hollywood Strikes)