AI Art Is a Controversial Disruptor Here to Stay—and While It’s Neither Illegal Nor Immoral, It Will Cause Real Pain to Some Artists

Every art-form experiences systemic disruptions induced by new technologies and paradigms. These disruptions can be financially harmful to certain artists. It doesn’t mean they shouldn’t happen.

ABOVE: “Animated Harry Potter,” AIAF (Midjourney, 2023).

{Note: Nothing in this lengthy article will change anyone’s mind on this issue, nor can it dull the intensity with which those on both sides of it experience it. Post-internet cultural theorists have long acknowledged that internet discourse doesn’t change minds unless and until two discrete condit…