Will AI Replace Artists? An Expert Says “Think Again!”
Hi everyone, John here! It feels like you can’t go a day without hearing about Artificial Intelligence, or AI. It’s everywhere! And if you’re a creative person—a painter, a musician, a filmmaker, or even just someone who loves making things—you might be feeling a little nervous. The big question on everyone’s mind is: Will AI take over creative jobs?
It’s a totally fair question. We see AI making incredible images and music, and it’s easy to wonder if human artists will still be needed in the future. That’s why I was so excited to read an interview with Joshua Davies. He’s the Chief Innovation Officer at Artlist, a huge company that provides music and video for creators. His job is to think about the future of creativity and technology, so he’s the perfect person to ask!
Today, we’re going to break down his thoughts in a way that’s super easy to understand. Let’s dive in and see why he believes artists are more important than ever.
Is AI the Artist, or Just the Assistant?
The first thing to clear up is the role AI plays. Is it the one in charge, or is it just helping out? Joshua Davies uses a brilliant analogy: he says AI is like a “co-pilot.”
Imagine you’re flying a plane. You are the pilot. You decide where to go, you feel the turbulence, and you make the important decisions to land safely. A co-pilot is there to help you. They can manage the radio, check the fuel levels, and handle some of the more routine tasks. They make your job easier, but you are still the one flying the plane.
That’s exactly how he sees AI. It’s a tool to augment human creativity, not replace it.
Lila: “Hold on, John. You just used a fancy word there. What does ‘augment’ actually mean?”
John: “Great question, Lila! ‘Augment’ simply means to add to or improve something that’s already there. Think of it like adding turbo boosters to your bike. You’re still the one pedaling and steering, but the boosters give you an extra push to go faster and farther. AI is that extra push for creators.”
So, the artist is still the pilot with the vision. The AI is just a very powerful co-pilot that can help handle the technical stuff, allowing the artist to focus on what really matters: the idea and the emotion.
Not All AI is Created Equal: The Importance of Ethics
This next part is really important. You might have wondered, “Where does AI get all its information from?” To create a picture of a cat, an AI has to see millions of pictures of cats first. But how does it get those pictures?
Joshua explains that many AI companies use a method called “scraping.”
Lila: “Uh oh, ‘scraping’ sounds a little… sketchy. What is it?”
John: “You’re right to be cautious, Lila! Scraping is when a program automatically goes across the internet and downloads massive amounts of data—images, articles, music, you name it. The problem is, it often does this without asking for permission from the original creators and without paying them. It’s like a chef running into every other restaurant in town, stealing a bit of every dish to make their own stew. It’s not fair to the original chefs!”
This is a huge ethical problem. It means many AI tools are built on the uncredited work of millions of artists. But Artlist decided to do things differently.
They built their AI tools by using only their own library of music and footage. These are works from artists who have a contract with Artlist and get paid for their creations. This means their AI is “ethically sourced.” They didn’t scrape the internet; they used ingredients they had already paid for. This ensures that the artists whose work helped train the AI are properly compensated. It’s a much fairer and more sustainable way to build these powerful tools.
What AI Can (and Absolutely Can’t) Do
Okay, so we know AI is a co-pilot and it should be built ethically. But what is it actually good at? And more importantly, where does it fall short?
The AI’s Superpower: Heavy Lifting and Pattern Finding
According to Joshua, AI is fantastic at handling the tedious, time-consuming parts of the creative process. Think of it as the ultimate intern who never gets tired or bored. Here are a few things AI excels at:
- Finding the Needle in a Haystack: Imagine you need the perfect sad, slow piano song for your video. Instead of listening to thousands of tracks, you can tell an AI what you want, and it can find the best options for you in seconds.
- Doing the Grunt Work: Tasks like color correcting an entire film, removing background noise from an audio recording, or cutting out a person from a video used to take hours. AI can now do this kind of work almost instantly.
- Remixing and Suggesting: AI is a master remixer. It can look at all the data it’s been trained on and create something that fits a pattern. It can suggest different color palettes, musical chords, or even shot sequences.
By taking care of this “grunt work,” AI frees up the human artist to focus on the big picture.
The Human Superpower: True Creativity and Feeling
Here’s the most crucial point from the interview: AI is not creative in the way humans are. It can’t invent something truly new from scratch because it lacks one key ingredient: life experience.
An AI has never felt the joy of a surprise party, the pain of a breakup, or the quiet peace of watching a sunset. It can analyze data about these things, but it can’t feel them. This is where humans have an unbeatable advantage.
Lila: “The interview mentions that AI isn’t ‘sentient.’ Is that related to what you’re saying about feelings?”
John: “Exactly, Lila! ‘Sentient’ means having the ability to feel, perceive, and experience things consciously. A puppy is sentient; it feels happy when you pet it and scared during a thunderstorm. A rock is not sentient. Right now, AI is much more like a very, very smart rock than a puppy. It can process information, but it doesn’t have consciousness or genuine feelings.”
Your unique taste, your personal memories, your cultural background, your sense of humor—that’s your creative magic. An AI can imitate a style, but it can’t create a new one based on a deeply personal story. It can follow the recipe, but it can’t invent a new dish inspired by a memory of cooking with your grandmother.
Advice for Creators in the Age of AI
So, what does this all mean for you, the aspiring creator? Joshua Davies offers some clear and encouraging advice.
First, don’t be afraid of AI. See it for what it is: a powerful new tool, just like the invention of the camera or the electric guitar. Learn how to use it. Play with it. Figure out how it can help you get the boring stuff done faster so you can spend more time on what you love.
Second, and most importantly, double down on what makes you human. Focus on your unique voice and your ability to tell stories. The “why” behind your art is your greatest asset. Why did you choose that color? What feeling are you trying to create with that melody? What story are you telling with that film shot? AI can’t answer those questions. Only you can.
Our Takeaway: A Partnership, Not a Panic
John’s View: After reading this, I feel incredibly optimistic. For a while, the conversation around AI felt like it was about replacing people. But Joshua Davies frames it as a partnership. He puts the power and the magic firmly back in the hands of the human artist. It’s a reminder that true art is about communication, emotion, and having a point of view—things that can’t be programmed.
Lila’s View: I have to admit, I was a little scared of all this AI art stuff before! But thinking of it as a “co-pilot” makes so much sense. It feels less like a threat and more like a new kind of paintbrush that can help people bring their ideas to life. It makes me want to try it!
The message is clear: AI needs artists far more than artists need AI. The future isn’t about AI generating soulless content; it’s about creative people using these amazing new tools to push the boundaries of art further than ever before.
This article is based on the following original source, summarized from the author’s perspective:
Josh Davies, CINO, Artlist, on why AI needs artists — not
the other way around