AI is useful for lots of things, including writing code, meeting minutes and generating copy. We’ve seen it used to make fake news, and my family likes to use it to create visual absurdities. But can AI paint a picture, thinking like an artist? I have a paid subscription to Canva so I put it to the test on a modern version of the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
The subject is iconic; AI could have no trouble understanding it. Bible scenes in contemporary settings are as old as oil painting itself. I wasn’t looking for painterly output, just a design that would tell the story in a compelling way.
A little background
For those of you not familiar with the Gospels, the miracle of the loaves and fishes happened on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The people who lived there in Jesus’ time were mostly poor to modestly self-sufficient. These farmers, fishermen and laborers were burdened by heavy taxes and oppressive colonial government. The subtext of the story is that they were physically and spiritually hungry.
How do you translate that to today’s world?
To make a meaningful update, one needs to ask not just what would Jesus look like, but what would his listeners look like.
Today, it’s estimated that about 1.1 billion people worldwide live in slums or slum-like conditions. These informal settlements are characterized by overcrowding, a lack of basic services, and economic insecurity. Over 85% of them live in three regions: central and southern Asia, eastern and southeastern Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. While Dharavi in Mumbai isn’t the largest slum in the world (that honor goes to Orangi Town in Karachi, Pakistan), it’s certainly representative. Any of the world’s great slums would have done just as well.
Why didn’t I just use a pencil?
There are two kinds of clothes in an artist’s wardrobe: those with paint on them, and those that will have paint on them. I was enjoying being clean for a change. I was also curious how AI would handle my instructions. Bear in mind, however, that even before I started to create images, I’d already come up with the concept.
My first request was simple: show Jesus preaching in the slums of Mumbai. Over and over, Jesus towered over the other people in the frame. “Make Jesus smaller, darker, and more Jewish in appearance,” I suggested. I could never get him to look like anything other than European, like something from a mid-century illustration from The Watchtower.
AI also had trouble with the loaves and fishes. The bread sometimes looked like crackers and sometimes like plantains. When fish showed up at all, they were either absurdly stylized or, bafflingly, thrown all over the ground.
But it was in the composition that AI really failed. The output had no drama, no structure and no color harmony. I didn’t expect it to be quite so bad, because the elements of design and rules of composition are objective and quantifiable.
My takeaway
I think my job as a fine artist is quite safe. Have you used AI for image generation? If so, what were your results like?
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If you’ve ever looked at an AI-generated equine picture or a room renovation picture you can clearly see the limitations of AI. Mostly I find them amusing as I seek out the errors and inconsistencies. But my issue is that all AI generated images are plagiarism, particularly those masquerading as art. And I’m seeing a disturbing trend on social media to post AI-generated videos that portray animals exhibiting unnatural behaviors, like a polar bear rescuing and hugging a child rather than killing it, which is what it would do naturally. I’ve seen a number of those type videos and I fear people will think they are real, allowing them to interact with animals in ways that could get them injured or killed.
That’s a great example of the pernicious uses of AI, Sandy. Another would be the fake news photos we’re bombarded with. They pose an equal danger, I think.
Leave art to the artists.
I’m not one to push against the overwhelming tide of market forces, but it was reassuring to realize that AI isn’t quite ready to replace me.
Carol—Beautiful illustration of the need for an artist and his or her thinking outside the box! Thank you! Thought provoking!
Thank you, Julie!