The rise of artificial intelligence has shaken the foundation of the art world. Valued at $3.2 billion in 2024, the AI art market has been projected to soar as much as $40.4 billion by 2033, leaving many human artists behind.
According to Oxford academics, AI-generated images, music and writing have flooded creative spaces. 74% of artists have said AI art is unethical, yet more than a quarter of Americans have already encountered it. For many in the industry, the question is no longer if AI has changed art, but whether it has erased the role of an artist.
“I think the implication of AI in creative fields has been detrimental to the job market because it has stripped artists of their credit and the credibility they deserve,” Maddie Leventhal ’26 said. “It’s like the artist has disappeared; I never know if the art is actual or not.”
The shift to depending on AI has already affected the art industry.
“People want immediacy and results very fast, which has made it difficult for people to understand what lengths artists have gone through to create their own,” local artist at the Sorelle Art Gallery in Westport Kimberly Ferracio said. “I think people have turned to the quickest option and have tried to make the quickest buck.”
Recent research has shown that AI-generated art often lacks originality. According to a UPenn business journal, only 6% of the Chatgpt-generated ideas were considered unique, compared with 100% in the human group. The UPenn journal stated that artificial intelligence guides users toward visually similar results because of its formula prompt and model training biases.
Using AI tools to help with even small tasks like homework has made students more dependent and less confident in their own creative thinking
“I used ChatGPT in previous years to brainstorm ideas, but the more I used it, the harder it was for me to brainstorm some of my own. I stare at the blank paper,” Olivia Schwartz ’26 said.
The slow, often difficult process of true creation has been overlooked in a world that values speed and convenience. The artist’s voice, uniqueness and heart is now in serious risk of fading behind shortcuts and algorithms.
