“Copying a style is how new artists are made.” As an artist this is true but also very untrue from my experience. Is copying a style a useful thing? Yes. Does it have the capacity to build skills? Yes. Does copying another artists work make a person consider how they could draw something differently/more effectively? Yes. But does copying another artists style directly make new artists? In my opinion, no. When artists copy, it’s usually done as practice from my experience. There are a lot of artists I admire, sometimes I copy off their drawings to see how they approach their work/ how they draw something. Elon Schiele (though a terrible creep) drew some of my favorite renditions of anatomy. I occasionally like to observe and look at his art to see what about it I like and when doing this I do something called a “master study” where I redraw the painting using pencil. This helps me understand the work at a deeper level. But if I just copied it and didn’t consider my own interpretation of their work, it me it doesn’t make sense how it could generate new artists, it would be more of the ai’s interpretation than my own; imo it would make the program more of an artist than the person operating it.

Though I don’t believe we should have harsh copyright on a style, I think what ai is doing is very worrisome. It’s not just about your work losing value but having your entire brand identity as an artist being copied in minutes. Many artists are known for something. I find style to be a sort of brand identity or logo for some artists. Style is what allows one to say, “oh I know who painted/drew/sculpted/etc that!” (When I saw Obama presidential portrait I knew who painted it immediately as an example, the style is distinct) For example, you see the Golden Arches, you see McDonalds. When you see a Van Gogh (though his style did change a bit over his life time) you think of his swirling paint strokes and loose landscapes. When I think of Picasso (who was actually a highly versatile painter) I think of his cubist paintings of women. So though I agree with you on some parts, especially how the gov needs to implement some regulation as everything becomes more technological and how as the tech improves, it will be an issue for artists. However, I think some copyright laws could be a possibility in the future (though implementation would be a pain in the ass; we’d have to consider what is inspired vs what is a copy, etc.). I also want to add that it takes a long time for someone to find a style that works for them. Mentioning Picasso again, the dude could paint realistically at a young age, and the style is is now known for didn’t come to him until he was older (a lifetime). So from my perspective, I can feel these artists pain when they see this happening to their art; I’d be pissed too. What took me seven years to learn and create can take another person minutes. Then they can sell it? In my style?! So yeah, obviously I’m biased here and think regulation to a degree could be beneficial today and in the future.