And in advance, with apologies to Marcel Duchamp, as today’s little missive is to the lovely - and apparently (at least to me) - problem with where we’re heading in the art departments, triggered by catching sight of a post that someone was binning their Adobe Stock account, because, well, you can probably guess. 

Why pay for a resource when you can prompt it for free? I mean, makes sense. 

And to the question, when the machines can spit out everything you need, is art broken? 

What does this mean for the role of the art director and the art department (assuming agencies have the latter any more? Sorry. It’s been a while, I’ve been away)? Does anyone (well apart from art directors, obviously, any clients?) care? 

What does it mean for anyone thinking of setting a course for the liberal arts, and enrolling on a costly foundation and degree and beyond?

Will the role - of an artist, commercial artist, art director, art therapist - be missed? Perhaps only to be ‘rediscovered’ in whatever LinkedIn has transmorphed into in 30 years time, posted ironically-nostalgically with a ripple of misty-eyed comments from staffers who used to recall someone down the corridor or the virtual office who knew someone who once recalled meeting someone who’s mum worked as an ‘art director’ (ironic quotes as well?)

Is there anything, that art used to do through people, stopping art becoming anything except a hobby (outside of the few outsiders who actually make a living from being Artists), rather than an integral part of several professions?

Well, to all those questions (sorry, so many questions) I have no answers. Well, actually, I do have one. Can’t do actual physical sculpture, can we ChatBOTS. Oh. That’s a question, even if it was rhetorical.

And you. Yes, looking at you. Step away from that 3d printer right now. We can see you hooking it up to OpenAI.