How AI Is Slowly Destroying Art and Culture as We Know It

To understand how AI is destroying art, it is first necessary to understand what art truly is. Art is not simply the act of drawing or painting on a canvas; it is the creation of something that moves others and makes people wonder. Art is a form of expression — a way to inspire and to create change.

Can a computer truly express itself? Can something without feelings or emotions move people in the same way that a human can? If given the choice or the power, no one should allow something that is not human to attempt to move humans. Yes, AI can, and already has, been used for great things, but for writers, artists, designers and creators of the world this poses a serious danger

Studies show that the average artist earns just above $10,000 a year, and between 40 and 60 percent work part-time or rely on multiple income sources. This financial vulnerability, combined with the rise of AI-generated art, threatens both the livelihoods of artists and the cultural value of human-created work.

Beyond money, there is also the question of culture. Art is a reflection of humanity, of personal experience, emotion, and imagination. If AI begins to dominate what is created and consumed, the diversity and depth of human expression could shrink. Society could lose the subtlety, struggle, and individuality that have always defined art.

If culture is shaped by what we create and the art we produce, what will it become when AI controls every creative aspect of society? Will it still feel human, or will it become hollow and uniform? The unpredictability, flaws, and unique perspective that make human creativity special could be replaced by algorithms optimized for speed, efficiency, and popularity.

AI isn’t good or bad—it’s a reflection of us. Every time we feed it data or give it a command, it mirrors our intentions. That means it can be a tool for incredible creativity, or it can quietly erode the originality and hard work that define human art. Writers, artists, and creators are standing at a crossroads: do we let AI speed things up at the cost of soul, or do we use it carefully, keeping the human touch at the center of everything we make?

And here’s the hard truth: AI is moving faster than the rules, faster than the conversations we need to have about it. Sure, it can make life easier, automate boring tasks, even open doors for people who’ve been left behind. But it can also make shortcuts look acceptable, devalue skill, and quietly shift what we see as “worth creating.” We can’t just let it happen. We have to steer it, fight for the originality, the nuance, the mistakes that make us human, and make sure this tool lifts us up instead of tearing down what we’ve worked to become.