Artificial intelligence is becoming more popular on social media, and it’s changing the art landscape. People who use the technology can create images in minutes or hours by typing directions in a few words.

Working artists, including those in New York, are worried about this technology possibly replacing human artists.

Connor Fox Bow, a painter of 10 years, splits his time between California and New York.

“I started just doodling, got into some painting,” Bow said, “and just kept painting and painting and painting.”

The 28-year-old is in action at Big Mouth coffee shop in Beacon after hours. His work, which is on sale, hangs on the walls.

Bow says art is everything to him.

“I guess how I express myself and what I kinda wish the world looked like in a way,” Bow said. “I can’t seem to stop doing it; it’s all I really want to do.”

For bigger, more detailed paintings, it takes Bow days of hours-long sessions, totaling 20 to 30 hours.

Bow, though, opened up about the rise of AI-generated art and how artists are worried about job security.

“There are people, like graphic designers losing jobs, because of how easy it is to create logos or anything like that with the AI,” he said. “In our capitalist country, people are going to take generally the cheapest way to get whatever done. And to be able to just type in anything and get whatever image you really want can really cut the artists out of it.”

AI supporters say they want to help artists automate their work. That approach doesn’t sit well with Bow.

“A lot of people are scared, with all this AI flooding into every part of the art world, whether it be graphic designers, or social media, people winning art competitions with AI,” he said. “What it comes down to is: Art is human. There’s no soul in art made by computers.”

Bow takes pride in focusing in on the details.

“I’m human. I’m doing this step by step; we’re doing every little stroke,” he said.

Art is Bow’s full-time job. He says the AI revolution is pushing him to work even harder.

“I’m going to just buckle down, paint twice as hard, practice and keep going,” Bow said. “I know what I have and what I do is different. And I’m the only one who can do it.”

Bow says he expects AI technology to continue to rise. His advice is for people to reach out to their community artists and creatives and support their work to keep them in business.