i haven't really been following the ai art debacle, and thus i'm not super knowledgable about it. but it reminds me of something.
a few years ago, i had an exam in ethics class where one of the questions was something like, "a new tech from a developed country is coming into our (developing) country. however, the workers here can't use that tech, and their jobs will be replaced by those tech, thus making them lose income. what should be done in this case? prevent the tech from coming, or let the tech enter this country?"
i remember answering that the answer is something else entirely. preventing the tech from coming is impossible, because it was just delaying the inevitable. sooner or later, everyone will be forced to use the tech. the longer people in our country resist, the more behind we would be compared to other countries who didn't resist change. it will eventually affect us negatively, so might as well accept it.
however, it doesn't mean the workers should be allowed to just lose their job so easily. they should be armed with new skills that can be used as an alternative job, to make sure they can still earn a living. they can also be taught on how to use the new tech to their advantage. win-win solution, right? the country prospers, the workers gain new skills which increase their likelihood of surviving in the world!
now, a few years later, i see a major flaw in my logic: the total disregard to the workers' energy, time, and capabilities.
back when that exam occurred, i was still an aspiring student in a major related to creative industry, full of energy and passion. i still enjoyed my classes and had high ambitions.
over time, that flame of energy burnt out, replaced by exhaustion and distaste towards my field. in our major, we had to learn many different skills. drawing, graphic design, photography, typography, 3d modelling, and many more. at first, it was fun learning new stuff. but having to learn all those different skills within five months each really diminished the enjoyment. instead of focusing on one skill, we were forced to stretch ourselves thin and learn everything within a short time span.
to improve our likelihood of getting hired. to differentiate ourselves from the many other creatives in our field. to meet the industrial standard that one person must master many skills, not just one.
at first, it makes sense. people would only hire the very best, right? so i ate up that narrative and tried my best to keep up with the ever increasing standards our major gave us. the lecturers are people who have worked in the industry, so surely they know what they're doing, right? they won't steer us towards ruin, right?
well. turns out doing what they asked drove me into serious burn out. instead of graduating with valuable skillsets under my belt, i crashed real hard. i lost my hard earned skills because i can't bear doing anything related to our field anymore. no, this isn't just me giving up on the first hurdle i received. this is the result of pushing through many minor exhaustions throughout the years, believing that small hurdles are normal and that i shouldn't complaint because it's not that bad. the result isn't just minor annoyance towards the field anymore. it also affects my mental and physical health significantly. my art skills increased because of uni, yes. but what's the point if by the time i graduate (if i can even manage to graduate at all) i have become so sick of it that i end up seeking a job in a new field? all that hard work for nothing at all.
and then, the ai art comes. while skimming through the entire debacle, i saw someone saying artists should learn more skills to make themselves relevant and hireable. it's the same logic as my exam answer years ago, so i should have agreed with it, right?
hell nah. all i could think about is how my underclassmen and all art students in the world will get pushed into learning more skills during their study. more workload for them, more chance of getting burnt out, too. these people will get burnt out even faster than me because they will have much more workload, but still need to graduate in the exact same duration as my generation.
frankly, i'm tired. i'm tired of having to learn all these different skills in a fast-paced and high-stake environment just to pass my courses and graduate on time and make myself hireable. i know having multiple skills is valueable in this day. i know my lecturers' preachings about how important it is to keep up with the new tech is true. i know people who can't keep up or who refuse to keep up will be left behind and suffer for it. it's just. i'm tired? no matter how much i want to equip myself with extra skills, i don't have the energy for that? i know it's inevitable, but like. it doesn't change that we all have limited energy? do we only live to suffer under capitalism now?