A deeper look at AI-generated artwork reveals many reasons why it’s not as great as you might initially imagine. From lack of detail to weird glitches, the internet is filled with bad AI artwork. As impressive as these designs may be, there are hidden details that show a lack of depth and true creativity, raising questions about how machines can ever compete with human artists. Check out how to enhance your everyday photos with AI artwork generators.
take a closer look
The magic of AI art is that it looks amazing when you first see it, but once you take a closer look, you start to notice strange anomalies. I tested this theory by collecting some AI images I had made and seeing what errors I could find when I studied the image closely.
This is an oil painting of some vegetables on a table that I created using Midjourney. While the color and texture are fun, you'll notice that there are carrots growing inside what should be corn.
In the 1970 World's Fair billboard scene, I was so focused on creating text in Midjourney that I didn't realize how much of the background was blending in. You can see that the edge of the crosswalk blends into the road, while parts of the apartment buildings look like they were carved and pasted in from another image.
AI art often fails at simple logic in a way that a human can’t, while background elements can be blurry, distorted, and lack clear definition. Other times, the errors are more obvious, like poorly created hands or misspelled words.
Amazing or generic?
AI art is only as good as the person using it, so it's no surprise that many AI artworks end up on the internet looking the same.
There’s a difference between people like me who throw a bunch of words at an AI image generator for fun, and people who put in a tremendous amount of effort to learn how to use Midjourney to its full potential. But when browsing Midjourney’s feed of the latest user-generated images, it’s easy to see that a lot of the AI artwork ends up being generic rather than stunning.
One reason it's so difficult to create a masterpiece of AI art is that the system isn't designed to invent new genres; it's designed to generate images based on what it's seen before during training.
In other words, it's great at emulating popular art styles, but it's hard to step outside of those categories to create something truly unique.
Once the novelty wears off, AI also lacks something else that human-made art has: a story of hard work, study, and unpredictable imagination. Typing a few sentences into an AI image generator isn’t enough. Check out the best professional AI portrait generator I’ve tried.
Failure to get past our screens
In late 2022, Jason Allen won an art competition worth a few hundred dollars for a work he created using Midjourney. As I mentioned, BBC“The death of art” was declared, and for a brief moment artists were really asking, is this the end? According to Jason, “It’s over. AI won. Humans lost.”
As of this writing in 2024, in my view, humans have won in the long run. Museums and galleries still display real human art, while AI art is not sold for thousands of dollars to private collectors.
In fact, most AI art never makes it past our phone or computer screens. The vast majority of what is created is shared as a hobby on forums. For the most part, AI art has not taken over from human art.
Instead, AI companies are embroiled in lawsuits from companies like Getty Images alleging copyright infringement or independent groups of artists fighting against big AI companies that use their images to train their models with data. As the agency reported, AP NewsAI art stands at a legal crossroads. Find out how to create and use AI-based art ethically.
humble algorithms
There are seemingly countless companies boasting AI image generators that don’t come close to the power of Midjourney’s AI engine, which you probably know by now is my go-to. If you compare Midjourney’s images to another site called Craiyon, the difference is pretty stark.
The AI art generated with Craiyon looks more bland and cartoonish, and lacks any real depth of detail. Of all the AI image generators, I can’t say that Craiyon has the worst algorithm either.
With every company that jumps on the AI bandwagon, there are all sorts of apps that boast the ability to create AI art but actually produce massive amounts of cheesy AI art.
With these apps, “art” seems like a broad definition, with most images being more entertaining than stunning. They’re often oversaturated and also quite clichéd. It’s safe to say you won’t win an art award with these AI apps.
On the surface, AI art sounds pretty impressive, but now that we’ve gotten used to the idea that anyone can “create” art using AI, it’s time to start sorting out the good from the bad. Here are the best AI apps to improve your life that you can download to your phone.
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