Many people worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will cause creative workers to lose their jobs. According to you, what is the biggest challenge that AI poses today?
Artist Nguyen Doan Son: I think the most frightening thing is not AI, but the fact that young people are gradually stopping creative thinking.
History shows that every technological revolution entails changes in labor. That is inevitable and we must accept it. However, what worries me more is that many young people are voluntarily ignoring the basic foundations of their profession to chase after the convenience that technology brings.
Society today is developing very quickly, and the pressure to learn and adapt is also much greater than before. In that situation, many young people choose to rely on available tools instead of training their thinking, observation skills and creative abilities. If that lasts, young people will not only lose their professional skills but also easily lose their personal identity.
As a graphic design lecturer, why do you still require students to learn handwriting and realistic sketching when AI can create images in just a few seconds?
If learning to draw is only to create beautiful or realistic images, that game has ended a long time ago, since the camera was born.
The important thing for creative people is not the skill of copying images but the ability to observe, feel and build their own aesthetic thinking. Hand-drawing or realistic sketching helps learners directly interact with life, understand people, context and emotions. These are things that cannot be learned just by entering a command line.
I always tell my students that anyone can learn how to use tools, but not everyone can create their own perspective. When assigning the entire process of thinking to technology, young people are very likely to fall into the trap of assimilation, creating similar and unidentitative products.
AI can now create very high-quality works. In your opinion, what makes human creativity unable to be completely replaced?
AI can synthesize data very quickly but without life experience.
An artwork is not only the final image but also the result of emotions, memories, experiences and psychological fluctuations of the creator at each time. These factors create a unique personality for the work.
In painting, there are values that are very difficult to quantify such as emotions, temperament or personal imprints of the artist. Machines can simulate form but cannot truly experience life like humans.
I think what is regrettable now is not that AI draws better, but that the emotional distance between creators and viewers is at risk of narrowing as we are increasingly accustomed to products that are created too quickly and too easily.
What do you want to send to young people who are worried about their career future due to the development of AI?
Before asking if AI is replacing you, ask yourself if you really love the job you are doing.
If you only see art or creativity as a simple tool for making a living, you will easily be eliminated as technology develops. But if you really love to observe life, love to tell your own stories and constantly learn, you will always have a foothold.
AI can create millions of beautiful images in just a few seconds, but a human with unique life experiences, emotions and perspectives cannot be copied by any algorithm. That is the core value that young people need to preserve in the technology age.
Artist Nguyen Doan Son was born in 1975, studied at Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts; won the Philip Morris bronze medal in 1998, first prize at the Hanoi Fine Arts Exhibition in 2000; "Bui Xuan Phai Award - For Love of Hanoi" and organized 2 separate exhibitions in Hanoi.
