Why AI Art Isn't Real Art

The other week, I purchased a digital copy of an art piece from an Etsy seller to use in a poster project. It was inexpensive—just over a dollar—and I was able to download it instantly. The artwork was stunning. I admired the loose watercolor brushstrokes and the way the colors blended effortlessly, creating a sense of organic beauty. I found myself wishing I could paint something like that. Later that day, while working on my poster in Photoshop, I noticed the image became slightly blurry when I increased its size. Curious, I reached out to the seller to ask how the artwork had been scanned and whether a higher-resolution version was available. That’s when I learned it hadn’t been scanned at all—it was AI-generated. I immediately felt a wave of disappointment. As beautiful as it looked, something about it suddenly felt hollow. For me, AI-generated images lack the very elements that make art meaningful: human intention, skill, and imperfection.

While there’s no universally agreed-upon definition of “art,” it’s generally understood as a visual work created through human skill and imagination. Art can be beautiful or unsettling; it evokes emotion and invites reflection. So why do people buy art? It’s not just because we like how it looks. We buy art because it makes us feel something. We're drawn to the story behind the piece, the artist’s journey, and the personal connection it fosters. Economically speaking, art isn't a necessity—yet people still seek it out. Why? Because we crave authenticity. We value the time, effort, and care poured into a painting, and we appreciate the imperfections that make each piece unique and impossible to replicate. That element of human connection is lost when an image is generated by a machine in seconds. It’s a basic principle of economics: when anyone can create something instantly and effortlessly, its value diminishes.

AI art allows anyone to create visually appealing images with little skill, effort, or emotional investment. Human artists, on the other hand, draw from lived experiences, emotions, and imagination. In contrast, AI art is generated by inputting prompts into a machine that pulls from vast databases of existing human-made artwork. At its core, it's remixing what has already been done. 

To be fair, most artists draw inspiration from others—no one creates in a vacuum. As filmmaker Jim Jarmusch said, “Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent.” But what sets human-made art apart isn’t just the source of inspiration—it’s the personal imprint the artist leaves behind. Human art carries the signature of identity, intention, and perspective. Author Julia Cameron puts it beautifully: “In order to have a sense of self, you must first have a self to express.” Being an artist is more than having technical skill—it requires emotional awareness, vulnerability, and the confidence to draw from one’s inner creative life. AI, by contrast, has no identity, no emotion, and no inner world. It doesn’t create—it computes. While it can simulate artistic style, it can’t replicate soul. And without soul, the result may resemble art, but it lacks the authenticity and emotional resonance that give real art its lasting impact.

So yes, AI can generate something that looks like art—but looks can be deceiving. Behind a human-made painting is a heartbeat, a mind, and a history. Behind an AI-generated image is a prompt and a pattern. As we enter an era where creativity can be mimicked by machines, we have to ask ourselves: is beauty alone enough? Or is it the struggle, the intention, and the imperfection that truly make something art?

In a world where anything can be generated in seconds, perhaps what we’ll value most are the things that take time. The brushstroke that took years to master. The idea that simmered for months. The imperfection that reveals the human hand. Maybe, in the end, what makes art real isn’t how it looks—but who had the courage to make it.