Forget AI for a minute. Let’s talk about what most people think human-generated art is, and why they’re wrong.

Name a musician (I picked Billy Joel). Name an author (Mark Twain). How about a movie star? (Audrey Hepburn.) What do all of these people have in common? They are famous — walk into a holding cell in Johannesburg, show a random inmate photos of these three people, and I guarantee at least one of them will be correctly identified.

Up until about the middle of the nineteenth century, this was not a thing. But you know what was a thing? Locally famous artists.

There are more talented musicians (I’m picking on that art because it’s what I know most about) than ever before in human history. Virtually none of them achieve any sort of global recognition — and when they do, the music is not the reason why. Quite simply, there’s no room at the top: the 21st century is obsessed with the 20th, and unless there’s a planetwide cataclysm that allows a hard restart, it seems to me that the lay-listener (or lay-reader, etc.) will forever be stuck in a nostalgia loop.

This is not art. This is mass production and overmarketing disguised as art. Art is never finished; it is dynamic, alive, shifting. The all-powerful publishing and distribution industries are trying to make money, not art. And they’re no danger to the artist — let them do as they like! Just don’t mistake what they do for what has value.

Another factor impeding the local artist is the online review. People are literally judging books by their covers — nothing new, but suddenly other people are paying more attention to the cover-judging than the content! What sense has it ever made to read someone else’s opinion of a work of art, rather than appraising the work itself on its own merits? Do yourself a favor: never read another review again. You’re literally better off picking art to consume at random. In fact, that’s a great idea! You can always switch tracks if you get a lemon.

Is art over? Yes, as a viable source of income. No, as an unmatched enrichment of an increasingly dull, mechanized modern life. If we stop writing, singing, acting, or drawing, in favor of making more money or creating more non-unique goods, it is humanity itself, rather than the humanities, which will have died.

What can you, personally, do to keep the arts alive?

1. Create! It can be bad. No one’s going to care about it but you, anyway. You will still profit.
2. Ignore any artistic product which is sponsored, advertised, etc.
3. Stay local. Trust me; the talent abounds.
4. Drop out of the social media algorithm. Type in URLs or pick up a physical medium.
5. Talk to your friends (remember friends?). Get your reviews from them.

We cannot lose. We just have to choose. Bottom line: in order to enjoy art, you have to create it. And you are fortunate to live in a time where you get to create it. The trick is waving away all the distractions, for the truckloads of gravel have never been more numerous. Choose well.