Human Art vs AI Art, a Potential Danger for Artist? : Artistic and Economic Evaluations across Multiple Art Genres

Abstract

AI image-generators have recently introduced themselves into the world of digital art. These platforms make it possible for everybody to generate art. This generated art could replace the artworks of artists. This could threaten the cultural and economic status of artists. This paper presents an experiment with an within subjects design in which 73 participants were asked to evaluate the artistic and economic value of digital artworks (Which were created by AI, but labelled as “made by human” or “made by AI”) from five different art styles : Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Realism and Abstract Art. The present study found that humans have a preference for human made art above AI-generated art, in artistic and economical values. Participants preferred impressionist and expressionist artworks and they preferred abstract artworks the least. Lastly, the effect of genre was bigger when participants focused on “economic value” or “human made art”. This research shows that artists still have a job that is valued and that people are willing to pay more for a human artwork. However, it is important to do more research to understand what kind of impact AI can have for the future of artists.