{"id":58246,"title":"Solidarity, even if...? Thoughts on AI","description":"Here's what Reem said when I asked about putting together a collection of her oldest hand-drawn work, and gently observed (in regards to her newest work) that a lot of supporters of Falastin are also very anti-AI.","content":"

I am anti-AI.<\/strong> I\u2019m among those who feel a deep-seated rage every time I see a new, intrusive \u201cfeature\u201d pop up in my user interface, or in an email from a colleague. As a life-long artist in various genres, I can easily see the massive harm not only to the earth, but also to our own creativity, cognitive abilities, and trust in one another. My own<\/u><\/a> art<\/u><\/a> is AI free and always will be.<\/p>

However, I am also practicing humility, which means listening even when I am firmly against a particular way of thinking. I know we won\u2019t get very far towards a better world without this practice.<\/p>

Here's what Reem said when I asked about putting together a collection of her oldest hand-drawn work, and gently observed (in regards to her newest work<\/u><\/a>) that a lot of supporters of Falastin are also very anti-AI.<\/p>

\"Regarding my new paintings, I put a lot of effort into creating the idea, but I don't have the necessary tools to support my art, and they look bad in photos. So, I use technology to improve the quality of the work, nothing more. Anyone who objects to that is mistaken. We suffer a lot here in Gaza; no one understands us, so I don't care about their objections. I love you very much, my friend, because you always support me, and thank you for reminding me of my paintings that were destroyed at home.\" \u2014Reem<\/p><\/blockquote>

Using Teemill as my printer was already an unexpected lesson in reflecting on my righteous disinclination to ever use AI. I picked Teemill because of their mission to provide an ethical alternative to fast fashion, yet many of the \u201cmodels\u201d for t-shirts etc are AI generated, or use AI to add our art to the real model. <\/p>

I reflected - which one is actually better for the earth<\/strong>: buying many more clothes than I need and shipping them all the way around the world so I can take real photos\u2026or using AI models to virtually show our designs?<\/p>

\"AAs usual, strictly binary black-and-white thinking turns out to be misleading and leaves out a lot. But what about AI art? Could I accept that in a friend and collaborator?<\/p>

As a way of working out my feelings, I used the \u201ceven if\u201d concept from the book \u201cPerfect Victims\u201d by Mohammed El-Kurd<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Reem used generative AI from now on<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

she wasted as much energy and water as has been taken away from her family<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

she still had enough art supplies to do everything the hard way<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

I personally like the old stuff better, and think phone photos by tent light are still beautiful<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

others decide they can't trust my judgment, much less my store<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

it doesn't totally go with what I set out to do with an Earth-friendly printer<\/p>

Even if<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

It's easier to just not communicate about it at all<\/p>

Even so<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

I still choose to have hard conversations, and stand by Reem and Ebaa. Their survival mechanisms are not mine to condemn, and I will not let this get in the way of our solidarity.<\/p>

\"Reem's\"Masks that do not hide the truth\" -by Reem Muhammad Al-Arqan<\/em><\/p>

\"We have become accustomed in this war to breaking and then rising quickly and always being grateful and steadfast, being patient and seeking reward and making times beautiful in order to overcome all the pains we live, and we have learned to make a mask of smile to be a key to the hearts of those we love - while in reality we are squeezing out pain. This has been the case since the war attacked us, and we will remain hopeful that we will live again because we deserve it.\"
<\/p><\/blockquote>

Reem and Ebaa deserve my love and support, not because of who they are or what they produce, but because of what they need: to feel like they're not alone<\/em>.<\/strong> It's no different from what I need, and we can help each other in that way.<\/p>

Total alignment must not be a prerequisite for solidarity.<\/strong> In fact, it wouldn\u2019t be solidarity at all, if we were exactly the same - we\u2019d just be members of the same group. Purity tests are all too often the undoing of movements, collapsing as they lose focus on the common cause - freedom and self-determination. We could spend a lot of time trying to figure out who deserves help, sympathy, and trust. But that misses the whole point - to see each other's humanity and intrinsic value, regardless of personal differences.<\/strong><\/p>

My other collaborator on this site, Crystal Silmi<\/u><\/a>, has never shown a hint of giving up on me, even though she\u2019s vegan and I haven\u2019t even seriously considered giving up animal products. Veganism is unquestionably better for the Earth and other sentient beings, yet I have always chosen the easy way. It doesn\u2019t get between us.<\/p>

\"CrystalTo be honest, I don't know if I'd have a selfless bone left in my body after 3 years of genocide. Here's hoping I never have to know. I think it's most likely I'd mentally retreat as much as possible at first, then I'd need something to keep my mind busy. For Reem, that\u2019s creating art in any way that she still can. And even if<\/em> <\/strong>she could keep doing it by hand, I won\u2019t de-platform her for failing to be the perfect victim, always strong and blameless in all ways.<\/p>

There's an Ursula K. Le Guin quote about the escapism of the unreal - \"escape is always in the direction of freedom.\" I find myself with no appetite for policing Reem's means of finding a measure of freedom, however temporary, and even if <\/em><\/strong>it\u2019s not what I would deem to be best. I will not be putting any mental load on Reem to justify each piece of her art.<\/p>

Both of my collaborating artists have extensive Instagram histories<\/u><\/a> (as of the time of this writing) showing their processes (click to see \u201cMasks\u201d)<\/u><\/a>. Everyone is welcome to peruse these to their satisfaction, and I\u2019ll start adding links around the site to some more of these process videos, where relevant. I've just picked out a few more favorite classics, and will continue volunteering my time editing old photos of destroyed art pieces<\/u><\/a> to the highest quality I can for printing.<\/p>

No judgment on the reader if this stance is not aligned for you, I just want to be clear about where I stand. Thanks so much for reading and trying to understand!<\/p>","urlTitle":"solidarity-and-ai","url":"\/blog\/solidarity-and-ai\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/solidarity-and-ai\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/artofraqs.com\/blog\/solidarity-and-ai\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1789187762,"updatedAt":1789195865,"publishedAt":1789195864,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":367499,"name":"Art of Raqs"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wxzrzfjndvsuabf4a8vd1yvxzqsonpbwzsbwjqadccieiap5.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wxzrzfjndvsuabf4a8vd1yvxzqsonpbwzsbwjqadccieiap5.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wxzrzfjndvsuabf4a8vd1yvxzqsonpbwzsbwjqadccieiap5.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":44782,"title":"Serving up hope with Gaza Soup Kitchen","url":"\/blog\/serving-up-hope-with-gaza-soup-kitchen\/","urlTitle":"serving-up-hope-with-gaza-soup-kitchen","division":367499,"description":"Now that I\u2019ve had a taste of fundraising with my raqs sharqi dancer designs, I\u2019ve decided to continue - but with a new charity each month. I\u2019ve been following so many wonderful organizations, and I can\u2019t wait to share more of them with you!","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wziksa9uediur4pqzh3douany5wjqbswnmwrseg8j22mgt5b.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wziksa9uediur4pqzh3douany5wjqbswnmwrseg8j22mgt5b.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":44281,"title":"Black Friday? Support \"Solidarity with Palestine Day\" instead","url":"\/blog\/black-friday-support-solidarity-with-palestine-day-instead\/","urlTitle":"black-friday-support-solidarity-with-palestine-day-instead","division":367499,"description":"When I started this design store one month ago, I announced that all profit would go to a charity providing internet connectivity to people in Gaza, through 29th November 2024, because it\u2019s the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/qdxv1niid3686nhgsdjj6bgim2fib7vbfmzh73iajkli0xtp.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/qdxv1niid3686nhgsdjj6bgim2fib7vbfmzh73iajkli0xtp.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":56147,"title":"The power is still ours","url":"\/blog\/recycling-rhetoric\/","urlTitle":"recycling-rhetoric","division":367499,"description":"It can feel exhausting to try and make a difference when we see our small sacrifices far outweighed by escalating war, governments polluting and plundering with far less accountability, and the exponential demands of AI processing. I chose Teemill as my Art of Raqs printer because I think it\u2019s vital to support the systems that are getting it right.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ppj2atczmtwovjbav5gtv9aaisr0lbucyxrz4tzqrivnir1h.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ppj2atczmtwovjbav5gtv9aaisr0lbucyxrz4tzqrivnir1h.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}