– There was talk in class about why we were sitting here trying to educate ourselves in a job market that we don’t know what it will look like in two or three years, says Selma Enoksen. She is a newly graduated illustrator from the University of the Arts in Oslo. Here you see one of Enoksen’s newest illustration works. Photo: Selma Enoksen Enoksen started her education at about the same time that AI programs such as ChatGPT and Midjourney became widely available, and has seen the lightning-fast development in parallel with her studies. She thinks it felt weird. AI-generated illustrations are easy to create with just a small description and a few seconds of waiting time. This was drawn by ChatGPT when it received instructions to create a drawing in the style of Gustav Vigeland. Illustration: ChatGPT / OpenAI In order to create these illustrations, the AIs are trained on millions of works created by other artists. No artists are paid for the works that are entered. Enoksen is worried that many of the small illustration jobs that are important at the start of a career will disappear. – If the alternative for a small business is either to get something a bit crap, but for free, which is very quick to generate, or to get something quite good, but quite expensive, and which takes quite a long time, then KI wins every time. This was a constant moment of unrest among her fellow students during the years she studied illustration. Here she is supported by industry veteran Bendik Kaltenborn. He is worried about the illustration profession if regulation is not put in place. Bendik Kaltenborn is one of Norway’s leading illustrators. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news Kaltenborn is behind comic books such as “Like the style” and “Sykt nais”, and draws for The New York Times, among other things. He has also created several album covers and posters. – If it continues to be the wild west as it is now, and no one intervenes, then one wonders whether it is really interesting for people to train as an illustrator or other creative professions, he says. Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery tells news that businesses must be free to choose AI-generated illustrations if they wish. Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery believes AI can also be a good tool for illustrators. Photo: NTB – But I probably wish they chose to enter into an agreement with an illustrator, she adds. She points out that today we have the Intellectual Property Act which provides protection for works and works created by artists, and believes that the development and use of generative AI must take place within the legal framework provided by the law. – But the purpose of the law is not to limit technological development, she points out. – I think many illustrators will see AI technology as a useful aid, and that there will be a need for skilled illustrators in the future as well. The Todd Terje record “It’s album time” was designed by Kaltenborn. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news – Uncritical use Kaltenborn looks with horror at several serious players who he believes use AI illustrations completely uncritically. In particular, an AI-generated illustration used by the National Roads Administration has caught on. The Swedish Road Administration created this illustration with AI. If you look closely at it, you will see a lot of strange things. AI-generated: Statens Vegvesen – It’s like a road with all the world’s incomprehensible symbols on the asphalt. And the pedestrians all walk in the middle of the road. So, nothing makes sense. But because it looks professional at first glance, it’s like: “Great, then we’ll use it.” The Norwegian Public Roads Administration, as it were, says Kaltenborn dejectedly. The Swedish Road Administration writes in an e-mail to news that the illustration does not violate their guidelines for the use of AI because it is not photorealistic, and thus cannot be confused with a real image or a desired situation. They say that they have subsequently discussed whether to use generative AI in this way. Prioritized We meet Kaltenborn in the office of byHands, an agency that represents some of the biggest illustrators in Norway. They notice that times are tougher for many. Ida Lund Bjørnsen in byHands represents, among other things, Bendik Kaltenborn, and is in contact with customers who want to buy illustrations. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news – I think general downturns and lower budgets with customers are most to blame so far, and that AI in particular does not take such a large share of the pie yet. But everything is happening at breakneck speed now, and it is impossible to see the full extent of what is to come, says Ida Lund Bjørnsen, who started the agency. She believes that AI cannot replace what actual people have to contribute to a process. – Fortunately, we are in daily contact with small and large players who value illustrators. But development is going very fast now, and we should stop a little and think about what kind of society we want. – Uncritical use of AI will affect far more professional groups than illustrators. Think we want art created by people – How many tourists do you think would be here and take pictures if all these sculptures were AI-generated and 3D printed, asks Silje Sigurdsen. Sigurdsen doubts that the interest in these sculptures would be as great if they were AI-generated. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news news meets the art promoter in Vigelandsparken in Oslo. Sigurdsen believes that people will always want to see art created by real people, although she believes that many tasks within the art field will also be automated. Silje Sigurdsen is an art mediator and runs the art website KUNZT. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news The Minister of Culture agrees. – I believe in the human urge to create and our need for expression. I believe that we appreciate what is real and original so that we will also in the future demand man-made illustrations, says Jaffery. Believes in a youth revolt But Sigurdsen is curious as to whether there will be a youth revolt against AI if technology takes so many of the important jobs for young people at the start of their careers. Chinese tourists gather around a sculpture in Vigelandsparken. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news – This could be one of the biggest youth uprisings since the fall of the Berlin Wall. How many will they bring with them, asks the art dealer. – How many years will it take before we say no to the AI companies and really stand by that decision? Decoration, not illustration For now, Kaltenborn believes that the AI can create decorations, but that it is unable to make a complex point in an illustration. He himself is known for his use of humor in his illustrations, and often combines the everyday with the absurd. A humorous strip from “Like the style”, one of Kaltenborn’s books. Illustration: Bendik Kaltenborn He has tested whether he can get AI to create funny texts. – It is interesting how bad KI is at humour, he says. – If it tries for some humor, it is unbelievably dry and anti-humorous. There it suddenly becomes very robotic again, he says. For the record: The journalist is himself a trained illustrator, but has worked as a journalist for the past six years. Published 27/09/2024, at 20.46
ttn-69
Fears AI may take jobs from illustrators – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
