The entire post with media included can be found in this link:
https://gcd.studio/pages/are-you-afraid-that-ai-will-replace-your-work
“Are you afraid that AI will replace your work?“
This project began as a response to the question above, I am consistently asked by my uncles at family gatherings. As a material-oriented animator who enjoys handmade, frame-by-frame processes, I am also aware of the growing popularity and efficiency of generative AI, especially when it comes to mimicking painstaking tactile animation techniques. To explore this tension, I compared both approaches and produced two animated responses to the same prompt:
“A pair of scissors wearing a tutu performing a dance on stage.”
Aesthetically, the results were more similar than expected. The only noticeable difference was the AI’s slight inconsistency, a limitation that will likely disappear as the technology evolves.
If AI can reproduce the material appearance of handcrafted animation, where does the value of handmade practice lie?
Rather than focusing solely on the final image, I turned my attention to what AI is unable to show: behind-the-scenes, proofs of embodied processes. Hands, hidden and improvised tricks (wires, clips, sets) that make the animation possible become the main characters of the piece.
In my latest stop motion iteration (shown above), I invite my audience, potential collaborators attentive to transparency and craftsmanship to watch a performance of craft, embodied by a symbolic artisanal tool present in both physical and digital media: a pair of scissors. Generative tools increase the accessibility of animation, and they may simultaneously make the authenticity and rarity of handmade practices stand out even more. How, then, can practitioners adapt and assert the value of their process, care and ingenuity?
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