Do People Hating on AI Art Still Use Brick Phones? DJ Natural Nate® Speaks

Most people don't know this about me. When I was a kid, my dream was to become an artist for Walt Disney. I even went to cartooning school because drawing was what I loved more than anything. By the time I was a senior in high school, my art teacher completely changed my outlook. He told me Disney artists barely made any money and that computers were taking over the industry. At that age, I hated computers because I honestly believed they were replacing true art. Looking back now, it's ironic how much that conversation shaped the way I look at technology today.

That conversation planted a seed. It made me pay attention to every moment technology moved into a creative space and changed the rules. I watched it happen in illustration. I watched it happen in photography. I watched it happen in film. And I have spent decades watching it happen in the DJ industry: the industry I have dedicated my life to. So when the AI art debate exploded, I had more context than most people bringing opinions to that conversation. This is my full statement.

Let's be honest about something. Most graphic artists are not nearly as exceptional as society makes them out to be. There, I said it. You can hire someone to create artwork using a computer program, pay for revisions, pay again for additional edits, and still walk away less than completely satisfied. Does paying someone to use a computer program automatically make it more authentic or somehow superior? I don't think so. At the end of the day, they are still using software created by someone else as a tool to produce their work. That software has built in capabilities and built in limitations because someone else designed it. The artist is certainly contributing creativity and judgment, but the software itself is also doing part of the work. To me, there is still something uniquely impressive about someone who can sit down with nothing more than a pencil, pen, paintbrush, or canvas and create something entirely by hand.

The part that surprises me most is how selective people are about where they draw the line. Artificial intelligence has quietly existed around us for years. It has influenced our phones, our vehicles, search engines, cameras, navigation systems, recommendations, editing software, music production tools, and countless other technologies people use every single day without giving it a second thought. Computer generated animation transformed the film industry decades ago. Digital photography reshaped photography. Computer graphics changed illustration forever. Every major technological leap displaced jobs while also creating entirely new industries, yet most people eventually accepted those changes because technology kept moving forward.

Now AI generated artwork has become the latest target. In many cases it produces impressive results in a matter of seconds. Whether someone likes that or not is a personal opinion, but the reason it receives so much criticism is obvious. It is accessible, it is inexpensive, and it allows almost anyone to communicate an idea visually. The biggest criticism I actually understand is that much AI artwork can develop a recognizable style when people use the same prompts over and over again. That criticism is fair because originality still matters. However, the existence of AI itself is not what bothers me. Poor creativity has always existed long before AI.

This also is not the 1990s anymore. Back then people spent countless hours designing printed flyers because they were physically handed out at record stores, clubs, concerts, and street corners. Today most promotions happen online. Social media moves so quickly that sometimes people simply need an image to communicate an idea, announce a show, make a joke, or create a conversation. AI has become another tool that helps accomplish that.

I also find it interesting that people criticize AI artwork while ignoring how much technology already exists inside modern creative software. Today's graphic design programs include intelligent features that assist with layout suggestions, background removal, object selection, image enhancement, typography recommendations, generative fills, and many other functions. Those tools are designed to save time and improve workflow. Technology has been assisting creative professionals for many years. AI simply represents another step in that progression.

Then there is the irony of internet culture itself. Someone can grab a random photograph they do not own, throw an old font across the image, call it a meme, and suddenly it is considered completely acceptable even if it looks terrible. Yet someone who creates a polished AI generated illustration to communicate an original thought is somehow accused of destroying art. That inconsistency has always made me laugh.

I hear people constantly attacking AI artwork while refusing to apply the same standards to every other industry transformed by technology. Unless you are personally hand drawing every illustration, hand painting every canvas, developing your own film photography, carving your own sculptures, or doing everything without technological assistance, then technology is already playing a role in your creative process. That is simply the reality of the modern world.

The exact same conversation exists within the DJ industry. I have spent decades watching technology remove more and more of the manual skills that once defined the craft. Automatic beat synchronization, visual waveforms, cue point automation, beat grids, stem separation, AI assisted music production, AI mastering, and countless other technological advancements have fundamentally changed how people perform. Some embrace those changes while others prefer traditional methods. I personally have never had a problem with technology itself. My concern has always been the abuse of technology when it completely replaces the human skill that originally defined an art form.

That is why I think many of these conversations are missing the point. AI artwork did not suddenly invent automation. Automation has been changing creative industries for decades. Graphic design evolved because of computers. Photography evolved because of digital cameras. Film evolved because of CGI. Music production evolved because of software. DJing evolved because of digital technology. Every one of those industries lost some of the original human process while gaining entirely new creative possibilities. Whether someone believes those changes were positive or negative is a personal opinion, but pretending AI artwork is somehow unique ignores the history of technology itself.

I do not have a problem with technology. I have never had a problem with technology. I have a problem with abusing technology to replace genuine skill while pretending skill no longer matters. Those are two completely different conversations.

"I do not have a problem with technology. I have never had a problem with technology. I have a problem with abusing technology to replace genuine skill while pretending skill no longer matters. Those are two completely different conversations.", DJ Natural Nate®

Using AI artwork for a social media post, a funny image, a quick announcement, or a creative idea is not, in my opinion, some catastrophic attack on artists. It is simply another tool available to communicate visually. Just like every technological advancement before it, the tool itself is neutral. What matters is how people choose to use it.

The whole bashing people for using AI art is stupid and honestly laughable. Unless you're hand drawing or hand painting everything yourself, you're already using technology. Here's my comparison. Turntable DJs still use rotary phones. Well, I guess the new joke is graphic designers still use brick phones. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That's exactly my point. Technology moves forward. It always has. Computer graphics took a piece of the human element out of traditional art. DJ technology has taken a huge piece of the human element out of DJing. Today, producers are using AI influenced, AI enhanced, or even fully AI generated tools in music production, yet AI artwork is somehow the only thing people claim has ruined an industry. No. Automation just gets renamed "technology" when it's convenient.

Look at the DJ industry. It has spent years replacing manual skills with automation while refusing to admit that technology has reduced the value of many traditional skills and affected opportunities for talented DJs. That is exactly what many people now say AI is doing to artists. If you can't admit technology has changed other creative industries in similar ways, then stop pretending AI has somehow uniquely ruined art. That's hypocritical.

"Turntable DJs still use rotary phones. Well, I guess the new joke is graphic designers still use brick phones. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That's exactly my point.", DJ Natural Nate®

I have never had a problem with technology. I have a problem with abusing technology. Using AI art for a quick post, a meme, a flyer, or to get a point across isn't abuse. It's simply another advancement, just like the move from hand drawing to computer graphics. My only advice is to stop making cheesy, generic AI flyers. Learn better prompts, be more creative, and make something that actually stands out instead of looking like everyone else's.

If someone truly believes every creative field should remain one hundred percent human, then that standard should be applied consistently across every industry. Draw everything by hand. Paint everything by hand. Mix records completely by hand. Reject every technological shortcut equally. If that is your philosophy, I can respect the consistency. What I cannot respect is criticizing one form of technology while celebrating another simply because it became socially acceptable years earlier.

My advice is simple. If you enjoy AI artwork, use it responsibly and creatively. Don't rely on generic prompts that make everything look identical. Learn how to push it further, develop your own style, and create something unique. If you prefer traditional art, keep creating because there will always be value in genuine craftsmanship. At the end of the day there is room for both. What there is not room for is hypocrisy. If we are going to judge technology, then let's judge it by the same standard everywhere instead of pretending one industry is somehow different from all the others.

Look how cheesy my meme is. But it's better than AI art, right?

This is the conversation nobody wants to have honestly. I have been watching technology reshape creative industries my entire life, from the kid who wanted to draw for Disney, to the DJ who has spent thirty years on Technics 1200s while the industry automated everything around him. I have seen what technology does to craft when people abuse it. I have also seen what technology does to craft when people use it with intention and skill. The difference is not the tool. The difference has always been the person holding it.

Technology is not the enemy. Hypocrisy is.

"Technology is not the enemy. Hypocrisy is.", DJ Natural Nate®