True Originals have Nothing to Fear

The true core of the AI art debate isn’t really about brushes or pixels, it’s about scarcity. It’s not about a scarcity of aesthetics. It’s about a scarcity of vision.

If Leonardo da Vinci had somehow invented a machine capable of endlessly reproducing paintings on par with the Mona Lisa, the original would still have been a sensation at first. Unique, intricate, mysteriously captivating. But what if that machine kept spitting out hundreds, thousands of Mona Lisas, each as flawless as the original? The charm would fade quickly. People might even forget why the first Mona Lisa mattered in the first place.

Historically, artists have thrived precisely because of this scarcity. Find a niche, craft your unique style, and produce just enough work to keep it novel and valuable. Maybe you create a dozen or two pieces each year - each painstakingly rendered. Patrons line up for your rare, thoughtful expressions of style.

But AI flipped this model overnight. Now, if you conjure up a groundbreaking style, AI can replicate it in hours. Suddenly, what was once your carefully guarded niche is flooding marketplaces, drowning out your originality with thousands of instant knock-offs. It’s no wonder self-proclaimed artists are panicking: the scarcity-based model built on controlled rarity is collapsing in real-time.

Yet, here’s where the misunderstanding lies: Most of us, myself included, aren’t that fixated on the tools, brushes, or methods. We aren’t counting brush strokes or scrutinizing the source of bristles. Instead, we’re drawn to something more fundamental: vision. We’re compelled by art that freezes us mid-step in a gallery, pulling us into a perspective we never imagined, leaving us breathless in its wake.

And therein lies the true scarcity. Visionaries—real visionaries—are few and far between. Sure, anyone can learn technique, anyone can master style. But style alone isn’t art. Without genuine vision, art risks becoming mere aesthetics, a superficial flood with no depth.

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo wouldn’t have feared AI. They were visionaries first, craftsmen second. Their creativity wasn’t about mastering the brush for the sake of the brush; it was about manifesting dreams into reality. For them, AI wouldn’t be competition; it would be liberation. Free from ever-increasing technical tedium, they are able dive deeper into their imagination, crafting visions that AI cannot yet dream up on its own.

The loudest voices condemning AI art seem to come from those who’ve relied too heavily on style, those painfully aware of their creative vulnerability. The real originals - the true visionaries - have nothing to fear. They welcome the age of AI, seeing it for what it truly is: an opportunity to see the dreams and visions living within their minds's eye come to reality in waking reality.