[This Book] "If Everything Made by AI Looks Good to You... It Means You Lack Fundamentals"

Interview with Yujin Jung, Deputy Director of International Admissions at Otis College of Art and Design

New Book "Is It Okay to Pursue Art in the Age of AI?"

"Standards over Skills, Choices over Technique"

Portfolios Enhanced by AI... "Now We Focus on Process and Choices, Not Just Results"

Uncertain Job Prospects for Graphic Designers, Surge in AI Creative Positions

"Without solid fundamentals, everything seems acceptable."

A figure drawing class at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, USA. Artist Yujin Jung says that in the era of generative AI, not only the quality of the final product but also the fundamentals, observational skills, and the creator’s judgment revealed during the creative process have become more important. Otis College of Art and Design

This is not to say that images produced by generative AI are poor. In fact, the problem is that they have become too convincing. The colors are right, the composition is stable, and within a few minutes, dozens of works can be generated. So, is selecting one among them an act of creation? Where does the ability to know what to choose come from?

Yujin Jung, Deputy Director of International Admissions at Otis College of Art and Design, continuously circled back to "the ability to choose" rather than "the ability to make" when discussing art in the age of AI. He reviews portfolios from students around the world each year. His recently published book, "Is It Okay to Pursue Art in the Age of AI?", was also prompted by a question he has received repeatedly from students and parents: "In an era where AI does everything, is it really necessary to learn art and design?"

The changes he has observed at admission sites have already begun. One applicant for fashion design submitted hand-drawn sketches to an AI platform to generate a 3D image, and included not only the tools and prompts used but also the entire work process in his portfolio. He evaluates these endeavors positively. Rather than clinging to the standard of having to develop an idea entirely alone, what matters now is what one takes, discards, and revises from the countless possibilities suggested by AI.

The standards at schools are also shifting in this direction. Otis College currently requires at least three works in traditional, non-digital media to be included in its structured admissions portfolio. AI can be used for idea exploration and experimentation, but applicants must disclose how it was used. The school's AI policy also stipulates that candidates must maintain records of previous versions and prompts to prove their contributions. Since finished works can now be polished with ease, there is, paradoxically, an increased appreciation for rough sketches, failed versions, and traces of correction.

"Ultimately, what we want to see is not just 'how well was it made.' We are interested in what the artist was curious about, and which options were selected among countless possibilities to make the work one's own."

Up to this point, it may sound like the familiar optimism that human creativity remains vital even in the AI era. Reality, however, is a bit harsher. According to the World Economic Forum's "Future of Jobs Report 2025," graphic designer fell just outside the group of occupations expected to see rapid decline for the first time. By 2030, it is predicted that 39% of the skills workers possess will either change or become obsolete. Forty percent of companies responded that they might adjust their workforce as AI is introduced. At the same time, 57% of companies cited creative thinking as a core competency. AI cannot be reduced to a simple statement such as "it will replace creators" or dismissed as "just a tool like a pencil."

"Is It Okay to Pursue Art in the AI Era?" written by Yujin Jung, Associate Dean of International Admissions at Otis College of Art and Design. He emphasized that "what you want to achieve with AI is more important than how well you handle it," highlighting the creator’s standards and insight, as well as the importance of having "your own questions." Bookie

Jung did not shy away from this issue either. Tasks traditionally assigned to junior designers—such as searching through and refining stock images, rendering simple graphics, applying textures, and basic editing—are already shifting to AI. "It is true that these roles are disappearing," he said, "and it is also true that the entry paths for juniors learning on the job are becoming narrower." When he wrote in his book that "jobs do not disappear but work is reorganized," he was diagnosing a reassignment of the tasks that make up a profession, rather than expressing naive optimism about the survival of job titles.

On the other side, new jobs are being created. Autodesk’s analysis of more than four million global job postings this year showed that AI-related hiring in the "Design & Make" industries—including design, manufacturing, and media—has increased by 147% over two years. Over the past year, hiring for AI UX designers grew by 145% and for AI creative technologists by 123%. There is mounting demand not just for those who "build AI" but for those who can decide how AI will be used.

Jung described this shift as "an era in which standards matter more than skills, and choices carry more weight than technique." As an example, he mentioned Refik Anadol. Anadol’s "Unsupervised" uses machine learning to interpret artwork data spanning 200 years from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection, continually generating new visual experiences. The work was officially included in the MoMA collection in 2023. Anadol's studio is not composed of artists alone; technologists, scientists, and sound designers with different specialties collaborate. According to Jung, the role of the artist is shifting from completing everything by hand alone to orchestrating the whole and making the final decisions.

He does not equate students skilled at using AI with those who are truly good creators. "If you have good fundamentals, you can look at results and judge, 'This part is strong, that part isn’t.' You have your own standards. If you lack fundamentals, everything seems acceptable. You simply don’t know what to choose."

If several people select the most average answer from the same AI, their results will inevitably look similar. He cited a phrase often used in illustration: "Technically correct but emotionally wrong"—works that are flawless from a technical perspective but lacking emotional resonance. Smoothness and true creativity are not the same thing.

Is It Okay to Pursue Art in the AI Era?

In his book, Jung refers to this distinction as "my own grain." Like the grain of wood, it is visible on the surface, but in reality, it is the result of time spent beneath. It is less about what technique was used and more about what someone was persistently curious about, what they especially loved, and what they ultimately refused to give up. The focus of the book gradually shifts from AI usage techniques to this inner dimension.

He considers Christopher Nolan’s recently released film "Odyssey" an interesting example. Nolan brought to the film images he had imagined over the past two decades, launching a real wooden ship on the sea. The actors learned to row and raise the sails. Nolan described the filming as being done "like a documentary." In an era where it would be easier to accomplish things digitally, he deliberately chose to invest his body, his time, and the actual ocean—a stubborn choice. Jung emphasizes that the artist’s unique grain is revealed even amid such inefficiency.

Ultimately, the conversation returns to the book’s central question: Is it okay to pursue art in the AI era? Jung’s answer is a bit more nuanced than a simple "yes." He is not suggesting that you do not need to learn about AI, nor that you only need to master AI. Instead, he advocates for quickly learning the tools, but spending a long time contemplating how you will use them.

"More important than how well you handle AI is what you want to do with it. Techniques will continue to change. I believe that, in the end, those who can continually generate their own questions will remain." As AI becomes increasingly adept at generating answers, it appears that the creator's task now lies more on the opposite side. Before deciding what answer to produce, it is about choosing which questions to hold onto as your own for a long time.

Is It Okay to Pursue Art in the Age of AI? | Written by Yujin Jung | Booky | 288 pages

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.