Will AI image generators kill the artist?

I was young when I first listened to Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles. I thought it was a fun and catchy song, but I had no idea what it was all about. That was fine, I was just a young boy listening to the radio and watching videos on VCR machines. I didn’t pay much attention to the title or the lyrics.

It was much later that I realized what the lyrics actually meant.

Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star

In my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far
Pictures came and broke your heart
Put the blame on VCR

The song was part of the Age of Plastic album, which explored nostalgia and anxiety over the effects of modern technology. While the album was released more than 40 years ago, these themes still ring true, especially in the world of AI text-to-image generators.

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