Artist are not the same

Because it came up in some recent discussions, i thought i throw my thoughts on this out here:

"artist" does not equal "artist".

Now, over in ArthistHate, they would propably nod knowingly and say "yes, whoever uses AI is not an artist" or "however uses medium x is not an artist" or some other variation of a true scotsman fallacy.

That's not what i am on about.

I believe that people using ai to make art are artists just as much as painters, photographers, writers, musicians, sculptors, actors, etc. But that long list already hints what i actually am on about:

Artist is a term including such a vast amount of people, experiences, jobs, professions, techniques, etc. that it is almost useless in the context of this sub.

But the most clear distinction is "professional" or "amateur". Now, i know this rattles a lot of people, but let me assure you, this is a pure technical term. Many "amateurs" work can be better than "professionals" work, and many are more passionate too. No, this is only about if they make the art they make for a living or not.

And i think that is a distinction that is important to make and to think about in the context of this sub. because many common points relate to it. For example the "soul" argument which plays little to no role for professionals, and i am inclined to agree somewhat when it is dismissed as a bullshit argument by "butthurt amateurs"

But most importantly, the distinction directly relates to the ideas of democratization, job loss, the question if ai is a "tool or replacement" and similar common discussions. Oftentimes, those discussion go wildly out of hand, often because people simply do not seem to speak about the same thing. Simply put:

Amateur artists can afford to have whatever attitute towards AI they want. Embrace it, hate it, ignore it. Noone forced them to use it or to not use it.

Professionals can not. They need to have an attitude towards AI no matter what. They need stay on top of the tech, keep informed, think about it and how it affects them, their employers and clients, their peers, the industry and their place in it. They can chose to actively seek an ai-free niche, they can use ai to varying degrees, fully embrace it, be open about it or not, but they can, for the most part, not ignore it.

(that group is also splintered. There are groups that CAN ignore AI art for now. Fine artists, for example, and illustrators have a lot more to fear than most 3D-artists.)

So, my take: i think it would benefit the discussion a lot if people would keep that distinction in mind. The fact that person A, with a disability, can create the art they wanted thanks to ai for the first time in their live does not invalidate the fears of person B that sees their standart of living drastically lowering due to AI lowering rates or taking over a lot of their skillset. Likewise, industry professional C using AI sucesfully does not mean that industry professional D, who just had to give up freelancing because their the clients in their niche now overwhelmingly use AI themselves has a somehow invalid opinion.

The fact that YOU enjoy making AI art does not mean that the fears of the pro artist are invalid, just as the fact that YOU have fears about your future and ability to make money does not mean that other should not be allowed to enjoy making AI art.