AI images are quick and easy to make. They look great at first sight, and they quickly replaced the use of stock images. But, like everything cheap and easy, they come with trade-offs. A short critique of the pure AI image.

The incident once again highlights a common problem with all generative AI tools: whether it’s AI-generated images, music, or writing, these works are inherently derivative because anything they produce is made up of remixed pieces of work in the training data.

AI image generation is essentially a truncated exercise in taste; a product of knowing which inputs and keywords to feed the image-mashup machine, and the eye to identify which outputs contain any semblance of artistry. All that is to say: AI itself can’t generate good taste for you.

“I like it when people make clear artistic decisions,” he said. “In a time of so-called A.I., personality becomes even more important.” Using technology to randomize content and narrative, he added with a laugh, “becomes a little bit garbage.”