Look Back, the anime film adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s titular one-shot manga, was released just last year. The past few years have seen a rapid rise in the development and usage of AI, and even the anime industry has been infiltrated by it. Thus, the morals of using AI in art have become a hot topic.
Is it right to use AI to create art? Can something created by AI even be called art? There are multiple questions surrounding the topic and endless online discourses. The director of the Look Back movie, Kiyotaka Oshiyama, also threw in his two cents on the topic.
Look Back director compares AI to the prevalence of washing machines
In an interview with Anime News Network, Oshiyama was asked about his views on AI art.’ The director revealed that he saw AI as a tool that prevented people from doing things the old/traditional way. He also went to the extent of comparing AI to washing machines.
The washing machine is a prime example of technological advancement. Back then, people washed their clothes by hand. Now that the washing machine exists, telling people to go back to hand washing their laundry is out of the question.
-Kiyotaka Oshiyama
The director went on to explain that back when the washing machine was first introduced, there must have been complaints that it took several jobs away from humans. Those who depended on hand-washing laundry as a daily living must have seen their job being taken away. He agrees that AI tech or AI ‘art’ would take away the jobs of some people who work in the creative industry.
However, he also believes in democratizing art to make it more available to common people who can’t express their creativity via art. Look Back, as a movie, is itself about the creative effort of artists and celebrates the growth of the arts. And he did not make the project to deny people the possibility of gaining creativity.
Is comparing AI to washing machines fair?
The washing machine is a tool that was invented to make the job of washing clothes easier. It reduced a mundane chore that people have to do on an almost daily basis. But when it comes to AI ‘art’, the discussion is completely different. Art is not a chore; it is an expression of oneself. Every person has a different way of expressing themselves, which is reflected in their art form.
But unlike humans, AI cannot produce original art. It does not have a unique way of expressing itself. What it can do is copy the art styles of renowned artists to create a hotchpotch of an image. While some humans also copy the art styles of others, it is often the stepping stone to discovering their own style. Kiyotaka himself is clear about what is right and what is not.
Using AI to learn natural landscapes or making it learn the realism of your surroundings to make some more creative art, I think, is totally fine. But when it comes to those unlawful, illegal, malicious uses of AI, I’ll say loud and clear that’s not something you should be doing.
-Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Comparing AI to washing machines, especially in the case of art, is a bit of a stretch. By creating so-called ‘art’, AI is not making the lives of artists easier; instead, it is taking away one of the only things that humans do to express themselves.
Look Back anime movie, is available to stream on Prime Video.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
