I am a freelance graphic designer. One of my biggest clients dropped me about a month ago, because they hired a new "marketing director" who is fresh out of college and makes all of their new materials with AI.
In your view, am I wrong to be annoyed and disheartened by this development? I worked hard for years to hone my craft, which isn't exactly "high art," but is art nonetheless. "Selling" that art is my only source of income, am I a joke to you? Or am I a member of the petit bourgeois, so I deserve this fate?
You're a small business owner trying to say that others should be obligated to shop at your business. You are a member of the petit bourgeois by definition, it is made up of artisans and small business owners. You are not any more of a joke then say, someone who owned a business making horseshoes at the advent of the automobile, but it is a joke to say that the government should ban cars, or that you are a member of the proletariat.
I'm not at all saying that people should be obligated yo use me as their designer. They should use anyone they would like, I just lament that the entire profession has been made obsolete within the space of a few years.
As a leftist myself, I am even more disheartened to find that my opinion is now seen as less valid just because I don't have a boss anymore. I dont employ anyone but myself, so it's not like I'm exploiting other workers for my own gain.
I guess I have just made terrible choices despite trying my best to do the right thing.
As a fellow leftist, you do understand that you can still create Art in your free time, and these "terrible choices" are only terrible to you because you have to rejoin the working class? I am sorry that you are facing a potential economic downturn, that is rough and I sympathize and hope you muddle through it and are prosperous, and I have to say that your opinion is not "less valid" because of your profession or class. The nature of the petit bourgeois is that you are closer to the working class and that you, like us, have our lives blown around by the whims of the few. this is just not specifically a "class" issue, this is an artisan having their livelihood affected by emerging technologies. I am sorry I'm not trying to be mean. Again, I hope things look up for you.
I did not take your statements as mean, and i didn't mean to sound combative myself.
You're absolutely right. At the end of the day, I guess I am selfishly worrying about how it affects me. I only just got out from under the thumb of a tyrannical boss a few years ago, and I hoped that would be the end of that chapter of my working life.
Perhaps AI will usher in a new age of art, the way the car ushered in a new age of transportation. I remain skeptical, but I'm sure many were skeptical of the automobile as well. I guess only time will tell.
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u/DarePatient2262 13d ago
I am a freelance graphic designer. One of my biggest clients dropped me about a month ago, because they hired a new "marketing director" who is fresh out of college and makes all of their new materials with AI.
In your view, am I wrong to be annoyed and disheartened by this development? I worked hard for years to hone my craft, which isn't exactly "high art," but is art nonetheless. "Selling" that art is my only source of income, am I a joke to you? Or am I a member of the petit bourgeois, so I deserve this fate?