The cursor blinks on a poet’s blank page and the paintbrush of an artist remains still all while machines generate art. We are in a world where algorithms are mimicking human-made creativity. Some creatives use AI as a tool to help them grow businesses and others see it as a creative competition.
Creative writers have been admired for decades because of their original thoughts and authentic story telling. How will creative writing change when anyone can put a prompt into a machine? Now, anyone can create stories with the help of AI programs. All that is required is a simple prompt for AI to generate a storybook.
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Preslee Sutherland is a freshman at SIU studying English and works as an editor for Grassroots Magazine, an undergraduate student-led magazine organization. Sutherland said she is concerned for the future of literature as AI takes major advancing steps.
“I think AI makes it really easy to cheat. You have somebody doing the hard part, which is reading and writing,” Sutherland said.
Programs like ChatGPT and OpenAI can summarize an article for a student and write an essay on any given topic.
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“People don’t have to read anymore. Macbooks have Apple intelligence where you can highlight texts and it will summarize it for you. That is why people are not reading anymore.” Sutherland states.
CNN reports that reading levels after COVID-19 reached historic lows. A Stanford University study used an AI detection tool to check writing assignments and found that 11% showed signs that at least 20% of the writing in the submitted assignments was written by AI.
Sutherland, like many others in creative fields, expressed concern for the future of creative writing. She said she worries about the potential use of AI-generated writing submitted to Grassroots Magazine.
“I haven’t received any AI work this semester, but it is a huge concern,” Sutherland said. “We know to look for it, but sometimes it is well-hidden. I see it all the time on social media. It is getting harder to tell what is real and what isn’t, especially with writing.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, I could write with a semicolon, or a grammatically correct sentence. People would say, ‘that is AI-generated,’ now because of the proper grammar.”
Artists in other fields are also worried about the potential impact of AI tools. Gracie Harrawood is an SIU alum, art teacher at Zeigler Royalton Highschool and a traveling makeup artist. She has expressed concerns within both of her creative fields, but also the strengths that AI can provide.
“There are positives and negatives to AI being so accessible across the board,” Harrawood stated. “Creativity is defined as the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work. In an area where machines can create anything we ask… we can learn how to not rely on AI but… use it as a tool.”
Harrawood also said some programs can make her teaching job easier as a new teacher. Some algorithms can help Harrawood with lesson plans and grading rubrics.
“I love the experience of pen and paper, the imagination and planning that go into each project,” she said.
Harrawood said she understands why teachers use algorithms for lesson planning, noting that burnout and sickness may prevent them from closing out an idea.
AI in the classroom has been a huge concern for many teachers around the world. According to Education Week, between 60% and 70% of students admitted to cheating using AI-generated work in any classroom.
“When I think of AI art, I think of unrealistic or almost…too realistic art,” Harrawood said. “Humans, animals, and nature are usually very organic. This is hard to find in AI without there being at least a tiny flaw.”
She said she shows her students how to use AI software like ChatGPT as a tool to find inspiration, ideas or themes.
“I do not teach students how to make AI images or art,” she said. “But, I do talk about activism, plagiarism, authorship and inspiration. Do we make art that looks exactly like the ‘Starry Night?’ No. But we love and create impressionist art.”
Harrawood is not only an art teacher, but also a traveling makeup artist for weddings and events. She said she struggles with clients asking for achievable looks retouched with AI.
“I could probably draw out the same four photos I receive as inspiration,” she said. “Unrealistic eyes, blurred smokey eyeshadow, freakishly smooth skin. Not a pimple or a wrinkle in sight. No amount of skin prep or primer can achieve AI. How do I tell my client I do not do Botox or facelifts?”
Harrawood said AI-generated photos have changed her clients’ expectations, and she now refers them to Facebook or Instagram for makeup look inspiration.
“Real skin, real people,” she said.
AI has been an issue in the film industry as well, with Eline Van der Velden’s AI-generated actress, Tilly. Tilly is an AI generated actress that many film corporations want to make movies with. Tilly is a thin, white, completely generated character with unrealistic features.
Many concerned women have commented on how AI will impact the unrealistic beauty standards already held for young women worldwide. In an article published by the Huffington Post, researchers examined how AI defines a “beautiful woman,” often depicting her as young, slender and white.
Harrawood explained that AI tools can be useful to the business administration side of the beauty industry. Harrawood said she tries to post onto her business social media accounts twice a week.
“A few months ago, I leaned on ChatGPT-generated graphics and captions… my social media plummeted,” she said. “The worst stats I have ever seen behind my posts on social media. Say what you want, but I can pick out a Chat GPT caption or even better, an AI headshot from a mile away now. It feels disconnected, too rigid, and unauthentic.”
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