Controversy: AI–Generated Art Is Stealing From Other Artists
This cannot be refuted. However, the argument remains — All art is stolen… or at least borrowed from other artists. This post explores “stealing” art, and the more important question, who created what?
The Photograph: A Vision of Creation
In the first image, the photograph, every element — the bear, the rushing water, the fish — represents the intricate artistry of the natural world. The scene exists independent of human presence, depicting the rhythms and cycles of the wild.
Many would argue that God created everything within this moment: the salmon driven upstream by ancient instinct, the bear’s strength and patience, even the sunlight that makes the scene visible.
The photographer’s role is one of attentive witness: waiting quietly, camera ready, until the scene unfolds, then pressing a button at the perfect instant. Thus, capturing a moment in time.
No part of the bear or river in the photo is man-made; it is a window into creation itself, framed by human hands.
The AI-Generated Image: Human-Curated Creativity
In contrast, the AI-generated image exists only through layers of mediation. To create it, countless photographs of bears, rivers, and salmon were first amassed and digitized.
A person imagined the desired scene — a bear fishing in a mountain stream — and described it precisely to a computer. With a keystroke, the Enter button, they set an algorithm in motion.
The result is not a moment observed in nature, but a composite: pixels arranged and blended by machine learning, based on thousands of prior images, to evoke a convincing simulation of reality.
Two Paths to One Scene
Both images captivate the viewer with the beauty and drama of nature. The photograph is a record of creation, the AI image a product of synthesis, built from echoes of reality.
There is a popular saying, “Good artists borrow, great artists steal,” that is widely attributed to Pablo Picasso. However, its origins are debated, and it may have earlier roots in the works of writers like T.S. Eliot or Igor Stravinsky. The phrase is commonly used to describe how influential artists do not simply copy from others, but instead take inspiration and creatively transform existing works, making them uniquely their own.
Borrowing suggests using another’s idea with acknowledgment and minimal alteration. Stealing, in this context, means deeply internalizing, transforming, and making the idea an integral part of one’s own original work.
The phrase suggests that great artists are not mere imitators — they reinterpret and reinvent source material so profoundly that it becomes something new.
