An Internet Marketer, Michael Essek, recently wrote a missive defending his business and the Merch on Demand industry as a whole from AI, concluding there was nothing to fear from AI taking away their livelihood.
I disagree. The risk is real. I believe it will happen.
Here is what Essek said:
“No doubt by now you’ve seen impressive looking artwork created in seconds using AI text-to-image tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-E and others.
Progress in this space has been so rapid that features I thought would be near impossible to develop (decent vector style outputs, accurate text rendering etc.) are already starting to arrive.
Looking at such swift progress, it’s hard not to wonder if this is about to become a very real threat to the humble T-Shirt designer, illustrator or artist trying to make a living from their work.
I mean – if an AI user can produce several decent quality versions of a T-Shirt concept in a matter of seconds, and a print-quality design in a few seconds more…doesn’t that spell curtains for the average designer?
It would seem to be pretty cut and dry on the face of it.
What takes me (an experienced designer) at least an hour to create by hand in Procreate and Photoshop takes AI a matter of minutes using something like Midjourney (and if that’s not the case just yet, it seems likely within a matter of months given current progress).
So how long can we human artists stay competitive if this AI continues to develop at current rate?
Will people really want to pay more for the ‘human touch’ of non-AI designs?
Will marketplaces like Redbubble and Merch By Amazon replace us all with AI designers?
And what about when AI art finally figures out how to draw hands, and do custom lettering that is spelled correctly?
If these questions keep you up at night, I understand.
But I do think there’s one major part of this whole equation that many doomsters and gloomsters are ignoring…
And that’s the IDEA part.
The idea BEHIND and the purpose OF the art – that’s what really matters.
That’s why there is any art in the first place.
Art, artwork, illustrations, and designs can do nothing – and ultimately, won’t exist – if they aren’t part of a bigger picture.
Yes, an AI image might look professional, be aesthetically pleasing, or fool people into thinking it was done by a human – but that doesn’t mean it has any real commercial use, in-and-of itself.
And it certainly doesn’t mean that such art is in any sense a threat to YOU – a designer who understands what people want (and why) – and is able to give that to them in the right way.
So here’s my point: an increase in the USE of AI art tools DOESN’T mean there’s been any increase in the number of people who can develop CONCEPTS for designs that will actually SELL.
In other words – AI art tools do nothing for the person who can’t come up with winning concepts already.
AI cannot spot trends, understand a current joke or meme, identify an appropriate framework for a T-Shirt design based on that joke, and put it all together to create something that moves people to buy.
AI cannot understand why a current aesthetic style is popular, and play on that style using well-known references to produce an original concept.
All AI art does is decrease the cost of just one part of the creative process (the ‘original’ artwork/design side); a part which was essentially dirt cheap even before AI arrived (in particular for the vast majority of T-Shirt designs, which require little more than some text and some simple graphic work).
This is not about listing what AI can’t do to help you feel better – it’s (also) an illustration of all the different parts of the puzzle that have to come together for an idea to go from ‘inside your head’ – all the way to someone’s shopping cart (real or virtual).
That includes the market, the motivations of buyers, the understanding of visual and textual references, types of proven designs and when to use them, the context of a topic, keywords, design choices, how you market, where you sell, and ultimately the strategy behind your business.
As AI only touches on one tiny part of that big picture, you can see why I don’t think it’s a legitimate threat to any smart and savvy designer, or to that designer’s path towards a sustainable business based on their art in the long-term.
That’s a mouthful – but I hope it makes some kind of sense.
TL;DR – Designers panicking over AI Art shouldn’t worry about it – they should focus on the more significant factors that drive success; perhaps the most important of which is the IDEAS behind their designs (which AI is very far from understanding). ”
Interesting perspective. Insightful. But I reach a different conclusion. Here are my thoughts ….
AI is already incredible. I’m selling products that are AI assisted. A few designs are 100% AI it is so good.
For now AI has increased my income.
I’m a realist though, having thought about the long term implications.
“there’s one major part of this whole equation that many doomsters and gloomsters are ignoring…
And that’s the IDEA part.”
What you’re unfortunately likely in the denial stage of grief about what is going to happen, or just don’t want AI to wreck your Internet Marketing business – is omitting the key point that the IDEA will be generated by buyers.
The wordy prompts now being used in Stable Diffusion – buyers will quickly learn how to modify their basic searches into detailed product requests.
Or ChatGPT can provide an assist to a user idea to flesh it out.
AI doesn’t need to spot a trend – although it can and are the basis of many prompts. Buyers can provide the trend.
You don’t think Amazon will automate this? LOL. That is what Amazon does.
Consumer provides a search query and in response Amazon will generate newly made AI created designs on the fly.
You’ve seen RedBubble’s stock price and financials. RB is in trouble.
Guess what huge expenses Amazon and RB can significantly reduce with AI?
1 – commissions to designers.
2 – employee costs (wages, benefits, HR) who have to deal with IP claims and counterclaims, idiots, fraudsters, Chinese copyright thieves, lawsuits, etc.
Will Amazon and RB continue to show human created designs? Sure.
And there will always be a very few branded superstars whose name is what sells the design.
But I expect human designs to gradually be downgraded in the results because they are less profitable – just like Amazon favors Prime listings over non-Prime products.
If there is anything that will hold Amazon back it is waiting for the courts to resolve IP issues. Amazon Merch is extremely conservative about IP issues.
My prediction is just like Google won the IP issue when it copied everyone’s images, websites, books, and literally everything — so will the AI providers win in court.
While I don’t have a time-frame for this, I am 100% confident AI will eventually automate much of the merch marketplaces.
This has to happen.
Amazon will not watch its Merch program die in the face of potential new AI driven marketplaces that can provide unlimited designs and re-designs with lower costs and pricing.
In short: follow the money.
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