Quadryptich of punk

As I have said elsewhere, I am very concerned about this. AI art generators (like Midjourney, which I used here) have become a major threat to the creative industries, and it's a technology that won't be fettered again now that it's out in the world. All of the hundreds of thousands of people who have made their hard-earned money through art these past few decades - whether they still work on canvas or on a computer - will either lose their source of income altogether, or will see their income take such a nose dive that it is no longer worth pursuing. Why hone a skill for years and work for pennies if you can do a shitty job for, well, at least minimum wage? And if artists go and pursue other (less creative) careers, art - TRUE art - will die too. But will the masses care, if they can get a cheap and easy fix to their art cravings?

But the worst thing we can do is nothing. In the wake of the rise of AI (yes, I mean it to sound as ominous as that) I have started furiously experimenting with image generators. Dall-e was a joke, and it didn't make me feel threatened at all. My mapping business was safe! More recently I decided to give Midjourney a try and hoo boy, the fear hit me. Now I'm trying it out to the fullest, trying to stay ahead of the curve as much as I can. My purpose is to see if it can help me do my mapping work, or if it is 100% a threat.

Intermediate conclusion? For the time being, I think us creatives are still safe. Maps are hard, especially when there's very specific client demands. But it will only get easier for AIs like Midjourney as time progresses. And when it comes to portrait photography, I think we're lost already, as witnessed by this quick-and-dirty quadryptich.