Generative AI will make it easier to get new ideas to the masses affordably. That could yield some really interesting results. There will still be a demand for art like Miyazaki animations or similarly painstakingly human generated works of art, and I expect it’ll live on as well.
Thanks to machines, I can afford to own some crazy technology relatively affordably. It’s okay that it’s not made by a human, because it allows this human to engage life in more ways. I can build things with wood that would be virtually impossible for me 200 years ago, but I can do it in my spare time over weekends. I can own an aquarium with plants and animals from South America, which is an immensely gratifying hobby for me, providing endless appreciation for life and nature when I’m away from it.
I think generative AI will eventually accomplish something similar for people. They will be abstracted from the experience of life in some sense, but ultimately may allow them to experience it more in other ways. It could awaken in many people the idea that they can imagine and bring things to life. Letting their ideas out and into the light could be a massively liberating experience! How many people would probably love drawing if only they could realize that they truly do have ideas and visions worth bringing to life? That it really can bring them joy?
There’s plenty of room for doom and terror, but that’s too obvious. Other forms of automation in the past were no different. What I find more interesting is how to find the good in it, because like it or not, it’s here.