Am I an Artist if I Use AI to Make Art?

If you're an artist, does that mean you have to do everything by hand? Or can you use technology to help you create your art? These days, there's a lot of talk about using AI to create art, but is that really possible? And if it is, does that make the artist any less of an artist?
 
On the one hand, you could argue that using AI to create art takes away from the artist's creative vision. After all, if a machine is generating the art, then where does the human element come in? However, you could also argue that using AI simply gives the artist more tools to work with. On the one hand, you could argue that anything created by a machine can't be considered art because art is supposed to be a product of the human experience. After all, what could be more human than creating something new? 

Below is one of the more popular images I posted to twitter. I wanted to make a statement about humanity and its often destructive relationship with nature while capturing it's fragile beauty and our dependence upon it for survival. The title: In case of emergency break glass.
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 The prompt was: tree in a bottle, extreme detail, photo realistic, 8k, dramatic. And this is what the ai spit out. I think it's beautiful even a little thought provoking. People on twitter seem to like it. Am I an artist for coming up with the prompt? You could use the prompt yourself to produce an image of your own. Your results would be different from this. Will that be art? Would you be the artist or would I?

​Aesthetics clearly play a role in whether or not something can be considered art. If something looks like a 5-year-old child made it, then it's probably not going to be hanging in the MoMA anytime soon. But if something has a certain je ne sais quoi about it, then people are more likely to see it as art, regardless of who or what created it. This is where things get tricky with AI-created art. Because the results are often so bizarre, they can be interpreted in a number of ways. Some people find them off-putting, while others are intrigued by them.

The images below were all made with the prompt, "surreal ai art". That's it. I happen to think they look nicer than many things I have seen in galleries.

The prompt was about as simple as you could get and the results are beautiful. Is this cheating? Some people might say it is. But is it really any different from using a computer to help you edit your photos or design your website? After all, AI is just another tool that artists can use to create their work.
 
At the end of the day, only the artist can decide whether or not using AI to create their art makes them any less of an artist. It's all about how you use the tools at your disposal. If you're using AI to create something that's unique and conveys your own vision, then there's no reason why you shouldn't consider yourself an artist. Only you can decide what's right for you.

​What do you think? Is AI-created art really art, or is it just a passing fad? Let us know in the comments!