Will Ai replace true designers and artists?

So, this is a common question that I have kept receiving ever since last year.

Will AI replace a designer? Will AI wipe out the last true artist?

Let’s look into it a little deeper.

In 1816, when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce invented the Camera Obscura (the first ever camera), portraiture painters made a big commotion — even called it a devil’s invention. They said the true way to capture a person’s portrait is by observing and drawing by spending hours sitting with them.

In 1985, when Sony released its first handcam to the consumers, filmmakers called it the end of cinema. They argued that the accessibility of cameras diluted the artistry and technical expertise required for filmmaking. They feared that the democratization of filmmaking tools would lead to an influx of amateur content that undermined the high standards of traditional cinema.

When Whirlwind-1, the first ever computer designer for graphics, came out from MIT in 1950 — designers argued that digital tools lacked the artistic sensitivity and creativity inherent in hand-drawn designs. They felt that software-imposed limitations hindered improvisation and innovative thinking. Critics often described early digital designs as "cold" or "tasteless," emphasizing that they lacked the warmth and artistic integrity of traditional methods.

Now consider these above historical facts for a second. Many traditional artists were hesitant to adopt new technology, viewing them as a threat to their established workflows and expertise and thus got vanished. They are nowhere there.

AI is going to replace an artist’s toolkit, not the artist.

If you perceive Design, Photography, or Painting as mere skills, you must be scared. Skill is your proficiency in executing these disciplines when your knowledge and creativity serve as the driving forces behind the entire process. However, these tools do not provide knowledge or creativity. And that’s the reason we still go to the movies to watch a film. Never have we thought that instead, I will take my phone, shoot something, and watch it.

Embrace AI, do not stay away from it.

I recently stumbled upon a Facebook post where a mother proudly talks about how her son denied using Studio Ghibli generations in ChatGPT out of respect for Hayao Miyazaki. I wanted to ask her to make him stop clicking pictures on mobile phones out of respect for Ansel Adams. Will they do it and still be proud about it? I would request at least leave the next generation out of it or else it’s going to be a scary world out there waiting for them.

Understand the potential of AI and start controlling it — use it in your workflow so that you can focus on innovation, creativity, and originality.

Anything that you see right now is a trend — it was always there. All of this will oversaturate the content stream. There will be an abundance of bad unoriginal work — and then artists & designers will take over again.

Learn the core principles of design. Understand good aesthetics. Start building your thoughts. AI can understand everything that is written in textbooks, said in YouTube tutorials, and a lot more— it’s going to take a long time for AI to reach a level where it can creatively break a rule.

_maheshravi