AI Content & Images: Friend or Foe?
Thoughtful Thursday
Good afternoon!
Do you like to plan some of your weekly chores on certain days of the week like I do? For instance, on Wednesdays… I like to water my house plants (although at times it doesn’t get done until Friday. haha) and wash my clothes.
And I do plan a low-key day for myself… which is most often Thursdays…
Thursdays:
Throw in leftover soup or pasta into the crockpot warmer for supper, then my other T’s: Take out the Trash, wash Towels, clean Toilet and Tub before the weekend hits.
And now a new one today… Thoughtful Thursday (Future ones will be MUCH shorter than this one!!)
I’ve wanted to discuss the issue of AI-generated content for quite some time. Artificial Intelligence seems to be sweeping the internet at lightning speed.
Even those who aren’t Christians ponder the ethical issues of AI… and many worry about the outcome as it progresses in technology.
I’ve pondered and chewed on the topic myself. I know when television and computers first came out, there were worries. And many of those worries have been legitimate concerns.
TV has pros and cons. It’s the one with the TV controller in their hand who must make decisions in its use, whether it be for good or bad.
The same for the computer and the internet… It’s opened up an opportunity to learn all kinds of things at home, such as new languages and how to fix your kitchen sink, and also connect with missionary friends who are far away in another country. We can watch events with live streaming capabilities. It can also be used for good to share the gospel.
Sadly, TV & the internet have also opened up a new sewage pit of iniquity for lust and filth.
AI-Generated Content
I’ve been learning to use AI for quite a few months now. There are many sources out there. I most often use ChatGPT.
The Pros…
My favorite use for AI is for my personal assistant. I can’t afford a secretary, but there are many ways to have it give you a collection of quotes or tips on a topic, or even a good, thorough review on a particular topic in which you lack knowledge.
It’s recently advanced once more. I began to realize it was getting to know my preferences… for instance, it learned that I preferred to use the King James Bible when gathering Bible verses on a topic.
It’s also helped me create better listings for my online shop items. It used to take me another 30 minutes trying to figure out how to describe my new item. Now, I can upload my product photo and have it help me create a much better description, which I still like to re-adjust a tiny bit with my own wording to personalize further.
There are a ton of possibilities, such as creating a little course for yourself to learn a new language or skill in bite-sized bits.
The Cons…
I think our society could become overdependent on AI. After all, I have found myself wanting to be lazy and not work on creating own unique ideas.
Could the internet become just one big pile of AI-generated content… in which eventually no writer could be able to compete?
I’m afraid that our young people will quit trying to think for themselves and perhaps quit trying to make their own right decisions. Quit being creative in their own writing?
After all, AI is not the ultimate authority on our life… God is!! And God is the ultimate source of wisdom!
How about the compassion and empathy and heart-felt articles and books from authors? I don’t think AI can compete with the heart-n-soul of human writing, but as things advance, it could learn to copy similar styles and already has been doing that.
In summarizing this part, I do feel some concerns that we don’t lose human interaction with each other… there’s nothing like communicating with real human beings…. sharing our heart, encouraging each other, and learning from each other.
Learning how to sew or cook from a mother will always be more precious and valuable than learning from an artificial intelligence robot.
And for sure, my testimony, trials, and experience I have to share are uniquely my own. No robot can share such personal life experiences.
Ethics…
Be ethical with the use of AI. When you create content using AI, make sure to re-search again and validate facts. Make sure the ideas and concepts suggested are aligned with God’s biblical principles.
If you’re a student in school or college, and you’re asked to write a report yourself, then write it YOURSELF. You can use the internet for research, but don’t use a fully written AI report and claim you wrote it all by yourself. Pretty simple on what’s honest and what’s not.
AI-Generated Images
I’m quite slow at drawing… and last month’s JOY challenge pushed me to doodle a little bit faster and not get so caught up in perfection. (I did use extra generated images to add below my own doodles for the JOY challenge.)
This inspired me to have ChatGPT create a list of 30 simple things to doodle for this month of May, so that I could do my own private 30-day doodle challenge to keep improving my drawing skills.
Here’s a couple of my doodles this month… a tulip and a bird.
The fact is, I cannot doodle fast or well enough at times to keep up with all the content I want to write or projects I want to create, so I started using AI images to add to the mix of my own doodles.
Admittedly, it’s a LOT of fun using AI software to create images.
To me, it’s kind of like a kaleidoscope….
You keep turning and creating a lot of fun new visual stuff. I’ve learned to be very specific in describing the type of image I want to create. It does take a little practice to learn that part. And there are often flaws with the outcome… so I find myself tossing many out until I generate the perfect one that represents what I intended.
Now, I’ll start with the cons this time.
The Cons of AI images…
When AI first became all the rage…. it put a damper (for a short while) on my motivation to draw. What’s the point now? AI software can create a drawing in seconds while it takes me an hour or more to create something similar, which never seems to be quite as good either.
I feel like it’s probably stealing work and sales from true artists out there. I encourage you to continue supporting artists…. there’s nothing like hand-created art!
I’m sorry, but as impressive as AI-generated art seems to be… I LOVE seeing creations by real human beings! Have you seen Amy’s adorable “9 steps to baking cookies” doodled art? The cutest, right?!
Another con, it may prove to deteriorate our own creativity if we’re not careful to keep active in practicing our own art and craft. I finally got back on the ball and decided to doodle and draw again because it’s a great hobby, it destresses me, and improves my own skills and creativity. It makes me smile and takes my mind off problems for awhile… relaxes me before bedtime.
Now some pros…
Although I find much joy and de-stressing while creating my own doodles, sometimes I simply want quick images to express my ideas or demonstrate my content, or enhance my printable creations.
(Can you imagine if I’m trying to create a 50-page printable and needed to draw every little doodle or image for each page? Nope! I’d never get the printable created! haha!)
Since I tend to enjoy creating a “designed product” (an example would be a printable template) more than I enjoy drawing images, AI art would make good sense for some of my purposes.
If you’re just wanting to create some fun images for a project of your own, then don’t be afraid to give it a whirl! If you enjoyed a kaleidoscope as a kid, then you’re in for a treat!
Ethics…
A lot of people sell AI-generated images to those looking for a collection of images on a certain category…. example cats or butterflies.
Many who buy images are looking for fast, quick access to a collection of images. That’s it.
Many AI software services come with a monthly expense. Those who are often looking to buy images don’t want to pay for software to create images… they just want quick access to a certain type of images for their crafts or projects.
It takes time to generate, select the best, upscale, and compile several images with a certain color, style, and theme. So, in a sense, the seller becomes a “curator” of generated images for their customers.
Let’s not forget the skill in utilizing good, descriptive prompts to get an output of desired high-quality images.
I know quite a few sellers of AI-generated images…. many of them are pretty open about the fact that they’re AI-generated. I think that’s a good idea if the main product that you’re selling is the collection of generated images.
BUT… Unethical would be for me to sell art while claiming that it’s hand-drawn, created, or painted all by my little own self. With ethics, it’s about being honest in your dealings and claims.
Okay, this is the longest post I’ve done in quite awhile. I don’t claim any authority on my knowledge of AI-generated content or images. And there’s so much more that we could deep-dive into this topic on pros and cons and ethics.
I do see so many pitfalls ahead with the use of AI-generated content. However, I’m not afraid to use it in ways that can save me time and speed up my online ventures and projects, both for personal and business use.
P.S. As always, you’re free to use my doodles or generated art for your own creative use or projects!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. My favorite images in this post are the tulip and the bird you doodled. With that said, your AI art has a personal feel to it. I enjoy your work! 😍