I live in the birthplace of fascism.
(well, metaphorically, the birthplace of Mussolini is the (?) suburbs of where I grew up)
This preamble is to state that I studied in part the evolution of art during the rise of fascism while at school
A fascinating thing that I think not many people know, is that initial fascism was associated with very avant-gard art! Specifically Futurism, an optimistic and innovative movement which looked to the future! Which I actually like, Futurist statues are amazing!
Once fascism consolidated its hold on power, they got the boot.
And the only state approved art became reproductions of ancient Greek and Roman things with no innovation.
This rambling digression is because I'm wondering - art is not a politically neutral thing (fyi imo nothing is, but w/ever).
But affiliations can change.
Are we going to see a resurgence of - I dunno, American Romanticism associated with the Right, hating on AI art?
Is current mainstream art going to splinter into camps because of what's coming?
Which political movement(s) is going to opportunistically sponsor AI related art and make it its signature?
I hope you've thought about this more than I have because I haves the dumbs rn
(before anything else, i'd like to recommend that people watch jacob geller's video essay, who's afraid of modern art. while he is (disappointingly) anti-ai himself, this particular video is nonetheless very relevant and can very well be applied to ai art as well.)
from what i've seen and heard, there's already a very distinctly fascist view on ai art in otherwise leftist spaces. i would chalk it up to a fear of the future and a lack of understanding of why attempting to control the definition of art is very often connected to fascism—whether the ignorance is intentional or accidental, there are many, many people who consider themselves to be activists, who are also only steps away from calling ai artists degenerates. people talk about book burning, yet i very seldom see people mention just how much artwork (not to say that books are not art) was confiscated and destroyed by nazis, like you said.
likewise, examples of the sheer violence & ableism put on display by those who are anti-ai in response to the idea of anyone even beginning to use it, while likely hyperbolic, are regardless bountiful:
the thing about this is that, to these same people, ai art itself is already associated with fascism. they see ai art as the tool of the enemy, another way capitalism has taken from humanity, and so they see it fit to be as aggressive as physically possible to anyone who would dare to defend it or even just be neutral on it. this is a very common trend nowadays, as many people are terrified of the future and thus seek outlets for their suffering by latching onto what is unfamiliar or apart from them, treating it as though destruction of it would solve all of their problems.
granted: ai art has been used by the right to further their goals. likewise, corporations have latched onto it in many ways, attempting to justify the amount of money they've invested in it. however, art as a whole has always been used to further the ambitions of both the left and the right. political comics and propaganda art, programs, videos, cartoons—a tool is not to blame for the actions of people, yet in their pursuit of a way out of a future that terrifies them, people have nonetheless decided to blame the tool and anyone who dare touch it.
i've also seen a very good article about how ai art will inevitably fall into the hands of bigots by nature of how everyone else refuses to associate with it, though i can't seem to find it right now. suffice to say, if you refuse to engage with a tool and claim it for yourself, someone else will, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the tool is, in fact, predominantly used by fascists. it's weaponized helplessness, a knife pointed at oneself.
all in all, my prediction for the future is that there will be a group of people who continue to make themselves sick with rage over ai art, people who slowly stop caring and pretend they never hated it, and people who realize what they're doing and shift gears to being more open-minded. i can't say what the ratio between these groups will be, but it seems as though those making themselves sick are much larger of a group than they actually are, as the moment you leave petit bourgeois spaces, the less violent the opinions become. art will continue to be used for various means, good and bad, but we will still exist nonetheless.
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