
Make sure you watch this content to the end — it might completely change the way you see AI, and it might even reveal a new career path for you.
Recently, I watched a talk where the well-known contemporary artist Xu Bing discussed the impact of AI on painting. After watching it, I was genuinely excited — and honestly a little honored — to realize that many of my thoughts align closely with his.
So today, I want to take you deeper into this question: Will AI replace painting?
My answer is: Yes… and No.
Let’s start with Yes.
If we define painting simply as “image generation,” then AI can absolutely do that — faster, cheaper, with more styles, and with endless variation.
When painting is reduced to pure “visual production,” AI is incomparable. It can generate a stunning image in just a few seconds.
In this sense, AI will replace forms of painting that rely mainly on technical skill and execution. Commercial illustration, game concept art, environment design, poster drafts, character development — AI is already taking over most of the basic production work.
And in fact, that was one of the original intentions behind AI: to free humans from repetitive labor.
Now let’s talk about the No.
If we understand painting as a form of expression, a way of thinking, a process of interacting with the world — then AI can never replace human beings.
First, emotionally.
Painting, music, dance — these art forms are fundamental to what separates humans from animals. They come from our need to explore emotion, experience, and meaning.
We are born wanting to express ourselves. Painting is one of the ways we externalize our inner world, and as long as humans exist, this impulse will exist.
Why do we cry, or feel moved, or feel awe in front of certain artworks?
Because in the image, in the brushstrokes, in the texture of the pigment, we can sense the artist’s living experience — their emotions, insights, confusion, curiosity, and exploration.
This is something AI cannot achieve, even at its peak. Work with a human heartbeat, human perspective, and human worldview… still belongs only to humans.
Second, initiative
Yes, AI can generate the visuals we need for commercial work — the illustrations and concepts I mentioned earlier. But a human still has to decide the scene, the character traits, the aesthetic direction, the message, the intention.
At least for now, AI needs human guidance. Humans remain the creators.
And what we’re experiencing today is no different from the major technological revolutions in history.Every revolution reshapes labor and industry. Old roles disappear, and new ones emerge.
In the First Industrial Revolution, handcraft labor declined, and factory workers and railway builders emerged.
In the Second, horse-powered transport disappeared, replaced by electrical engineers and communication workers.
In the Third, traditional typesetting and editing declined, replaced by programmers, UI/UX designers, and digital roles.
And in the Fourth — the AI revolution we are living through — roles like copywriters, basic image producers, and some education jobs are shrinking; while AI trainers, independent “super creators,” and digital-asset professions are emerging.
If you look closely at each revolution, you’ll notice a pattern:
Human value keeps shifting upward — from physical labor to skill, to intellectual work, and now to pure creativity and imagination.
This is why we need to shift our mindset.
Seeing AI as a threat to human survival only leads to resistance — and that means rejecting the next wave of progress.
Today’s AI isn’t here to destroy us. It’s a tool that pushes each of us to become more imaginative, more creative, and more initiative.
And these abilities thrive in artistic practices — painting, music, dance, writing, and every form of creation. So painting will never disappear as long as human exist.
If you enjoy my content, feel free to like, subscribe, and comment. You’re also welcome to share your own thoughts and reflections on art in the comments.
I’m Daisy, a storyteller who records and shares art. I hope my words and drawings inspire your own creative journey.

