Ask HN: Why do we celebrate AI-Copilots but reject AI–Generated art?

Who is "we", Kimosabe?

Personally, I have no time for gen-AI in pretty much any context, at least given the current landscape.

And plenty of people seem to accept, if not love, gen-AI art. I don't get it, but it's true.

> While browsing YouTube, an AI-generated video appeared and I reflexively told my wife, “That’s AI—skip it.”

My reflex whenever I encounter gen-AI output in any form: text, code, image, music, video, what have you. I find all off it mid in the best of cases, and usually think it's quite terrible. I regularly see posts of the form "you'll never believe this amazing AI generated picture/video/paper/program, and when I check it out I feel like I'm taking crazy pills because I just don't see the magic.

Just my $.02, not inflation adjusted. You (and many others) may well feel differently.

> And plenty of people seem to accept, if not love, gen-AI art. I don't get it, but it's true.

I get a kick out of generating photos with family and friends in different styles like Play-Doh, Simpsons, Ghibli, etc. All of them like it, too. Maybe that's what people like, a very relatable use of the technology.

Of course it’s terrible and that’s because it’s low effort trash with the sole purpose of making money. But AI gen doesn’t nenessarily have to be that though, it’s just the slop wave washing everything off. When humans use it to speed up their some tedilus processes but the whole project doesn’t look/feel rushed I have no problem with what tool they used.

Yeah but the fun won’t last, you’ll get bored with this look and the idea of looks when all the space around you will be innundated with it. But no harm in having fun though…

It’s also a shortcut to self gratification and wish fulfillment by way of appropriating or poaching the success and value created by others for personal amusement or satisfaction, so there’s that part worth mentioning.

Just a random comment:

In general when friends and family say they like something you do, they might not like that but they say they do because they like interaction with you, or are being polite, or they want to encourage action or they dont fully understand what you do but appreciate you are including them and so on. Unless you have a candid person in this group you should be skeptic when they provide feedback about a piece of tech you are building (or an AI generated image).

What I especially dislike in those kinds of situations is when I’m seen as “the heavy” because I respond with “please don’t upload photos of me to AI services”.

Like I’m the weird one because I take exception to someone just uploading a photo of me to some random AI service that without my permission.