18 Comments
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David Mendes's avatar

For me, the most regrettable aspect of these AI memes is that the overexposure dilutes and degrades the experience of someone experiencing the original source, especially if for the first time. Yes, the narrative is much more important, but the intrinsic value of the art itself becomes less meaningful when everything can look like the unique anime styles of Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira Toriyama or in this case Miyazaki.

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

Agree. This is why I believe the entire static visual medium -- at least the online consumptive experience will lose its magic. And it will be transferred to personal creation or an in-person live consumption.

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David Mendes's avatar

I can see this happening. It’s sad. Right now, there's a collective experience tied to artistic images. From a beautiful painting to a black and white street photo, the authenticity of the work, its picture quality, and the curiosity about its backstory creates a shared experience and appreciation among the audience.

Will this change? Maybe in the future, due to the abundance of generated images, and a widespread skepticism about authenticity, this communication between artists and their audience will shift to an interaction between prompters. Less of a collective experience and more individual. Where everyone is primarily judging images from an output perspective and whether they could reproduce something similar.

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Rinaldo's avatar

Beautifully articulated. Achieving lasting quality will require embracing slower, deeper exploration, investing in storytelling, deliberate craft, and cross-medium creativity rather than quick stylistic mimicry. The “how” lies in intentionally blending thoughtful human creativity with AI’s precision. However, what concerns me is that the path forward isn’t yet clear; there’s still uncertainty around what specifically will ground us or assure us that we’re genuinely moving toward lasting quality.

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

The good news is that we humans are ever curious and creative!

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Adithya Krishna's avatar

Love how you put this together

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Sebastian's avatar

You just have such a warm and calm way of writing, i keep looking forward to reading your articles! Thank you for writing this!

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Browny's avatar

I believe what's precious is the unique journey of how artists transform their experiences and inspirations into works. How to protect or highlight this asset, I think, will be an important issue in the creative field in the AI era.

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

The journey will require trekking new terrain.

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Rugved's avatar

Great piece! I think its the unserious part of creating the art like ghibli images is what triggering and not the image itself

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

Do you think art ought to be serious?

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Rugved's avatar

Yes the intent always is , no ? (not the process or outcome)

"you must push yourself until your nose starts bleeding"

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2930101097309998&id=1529321324054656&set=a.1532378840415571

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d10k's avatar

Lots to chew on here. Though, humans are amazing precisely because our time is limited and our output a matter of choice. While AI tools can allow an artist's style to carry on after their death, without the guiding human mind, isn't that simply empty imitation?

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

I don't believe it will be valued as much

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Mike Rapp's avatar

Julie, I always admire your so unique perspective. Thank you for sharing.

I’m wondering what the people who work for these companies feel about what they are doing. Are they all in or just along for the equity agreement?

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

Do you mean the AI companies?

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Mike Rapp's avatar

Yes, but including Meta.

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Julie Zhuo's avatar

I believe may there do chase quality and believe in it; just another form.

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