Stock Image, Wallpaper, and AI Slop

by Rian

MKBHD’s rather unpopular side gig, Panels app is shutting down on coming this December 31. The app has been receiving incendiary receptions to say the least; it charged $50 per year for wallpapers. I have no interest on making arguments for or against the app — I was obviously not in the target demographic. I pay roughly the same amount for Parallels subscription and still call it too expensive. Whether or not wallpapers are worth $50 is a pricing decision I don’t need to comment on.

What led me to rethink about MKBHD’s wallpaper app were some generic inquiries. It may have been all spams, but there were some genuine questions about the stock images and what prompt I must be using to make them in which AI platform. For some clarifications, I don’t use AI generated contents myself. If an artist on the stock image platform uses AI platform, that is his/her decision, but I am still not the one who prompted the AI to make it.

I have two gripes with AI generated contents: lack of context and lack of credits. When an artist draws or an author writes, there are always subconscious context in the work. Even if it’s Jackson Pollock’s abstract painting, the context, that it has not been tried before, makes it more meaningful. It pops to the viewers and readers, and that’s what I expect out of stock image. And, like the famous Pollock, all great artists, even if they are “stealing”, they credit where the inspirations are from. By admiring great artists, the canvas creates a room for communication across time and space. It is a sensation mimicry would avoid — it must be one-sided declaration, that it is indeed a work of a master.

This isn’t to say AI has no place in media. Generative or not, AI as a technical idea should be able to understand the underlining contexts and create a supporting artwork. As of now, most of the AI generated stock images were mostly too explanatory of the subject . It befits the contents it is made to support, but it cannot stand on its own as a content. Imagine having an explanatory wallpaper, and then compare paying someone $50 for a work you may or may not like. Both are extreme cases, and neither would be particularly be fitting wallpaper for my devices.