This is gross. A dude watching his own self-timed funeral after an egregiously long countdown, with a final message that empowers that “AI art isn’t art” crowd. You know, you could have written a proper essay on your Medium page and actually reflected on these complex issues but I suppose just saying “Yes” to your simplistically framed questions was easier. You conclude your thoughts by saying there’s “some magic” in this medium. This medium is a tool. It’s what you make of it. With all due respect, your work is lovely, but it so seldom made me feel any emotions. It was head over heart. I often looked at your images and nodded, seeing clever prompts but feeling nothing. I recommend that people read Ian Demsky’s Medium essay (that’s Kindabloop; I’m not doxxing him because it’s in his bio) where he talks about his first month with Midjourney because you’ll see the seeds of his style and ambivalence verging towards his hostility towards the medium. AI art is a new medium and just because someone can eloquently share their existentialism doesn’t invalidate it. We aren’t responsible for the datasets that the models we use draw upon. But we are each free to bring more of ourselves, our emotions, our truth into our work. That’s how there’s more than a little magic in this new art form when it’s done with more heart and soul.