Could AI Actually Be Good for Artists? How ChatGPT Helped a Customer Find My Photography
Roosevelt elk take in sunset views at Cannon Beach beneath Haystack Rock along the Oregon Coast. See the whole collection of images from this rare wildlife encounter HERE.
"ChatGPT told me you were my number-one choice for art for my living room."
Those were the words I heard over the phone while I was sweating through the teardown of my art show booth.
Making a living selling wall art is hard work, but this phone call made me wonder if the AI boogeyman looming over the art community might actually make this hard work easier.
Could AI actually be good for artists?
That hasn't been my experience up until now.
For example, a few weeks earlier, I took what felt like once-in-a-lifetime photos of Roosevelt elk posing in front of iconic Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. I was excited to share them with an Oregon Coast Facebook group, but the first comment took me back:
"This is AI garbage. This guy is full of it." The photo below is the supposed AI fakery.
A Roosevelt elk approaches the shoreline dunes while the herd rests beneath Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. See the whole collection of images from this rare wildlife encounter HERE.
I protested, but that quickly devolved into an argument about elk anatomy, and I moved on. The exchange was a reminder that AI has created a new layer of skepticism around photography and other forms of art.
Is it real, or is it AI?
At the same time, AI is flooding the marketplace with cheaply produced paintings, photographs, and illustrations.
As a full-time photographer for nearly eight years, I've wondered where all this leads. Will my commercial clients use Midjourney to create images for marketing campaigns instead of hiring me? Will homeowners decorate their living rooms with photo art created by Google's Nano Banana?
I imagine every creative has their own version of these questions about how AI will impact their livelihood. Up until now, I hadn't imagined a question with a positive assumption about AI's impact. But now I have at least one:
Will AI make it easier for me to connect with customers looking for wall art for their homes and offices?
Apparently, the answer may be yes.
A Roosevelt elk walks along the sands of Cannon Beach as evening light glows across Haystack Rock on the Oregon Coast. See the whole collection of images from this rare wildlife encounter HERE.
My prospective customer was using ChatGPT to help decorate her newly renovated living room. As she uploaded photos of the room and described the look she wanted, ChatGPT eventually recommended my work and even provided contact information.
I think she was almost as surprised as I was when I picked up the phone. The conversation had jumped from the bits and bytes of a data center to a real human interaction.
Perhaps that's what gets lost in the conversation about AI. Art has never been just about the product. It's about human connection, and that's something AI can't create on its own.
Based on this interaction, it might even prove better at making those connections than social media and traditional web searches.
Let's hope so.
