"The next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines." - Wendell Berry

I do not use AI to create my visual art or run any part of my business. I taught myself to draw as a quiet kid obsessed with animals by reading books and copying my favorite animated films. Art has been my most enduring solace through every season of life. In my 36+years of life I have been creative in many ways, always exploring new mediums, subject matter, and processes. Getting "good" at visual art requires endless practice and experimentation, and nothing can replace that difficult, long, beautiful, hard-earned slog.

Seeing and feeling the impact of having AI art forced upon us makes me feel like I am watching the life force leak out of society. Humans are uniquely creative beings. If we lose our creativity, we lose our humanity. We can not outsource our play, our passion, our love to robots and billionaire tech bros. While various forms of technology can be helpful when it comes to organizing large data sets and other utilitarian things, creating art is not something generative AIis inherently good at, nor should it be, especially when it directly and severely threatens the health of our already aching ecosystems.

Art is for us, the ones who really need it. When we give it away, we give away our power.