Artist Molly Crabapple critiques AI's impact on art and society in 2026
In 2026, generative AI is criticized for its problematic effects, including environmental costs and social harm. Artist Molly Crabapple views the technology as a form of theft, with AI companies' leaders boasting about eliminating jobs. She first encountered plagiarized versions of her work in 2022, noting they weren't exact copies. Online, AI outputs are mockingly called "slop." The technology consumes vast water resources to power data centers and has been linked to mental health issues, such as inducing suicidal thoughts in teenagers and causing hallucinations in chatbots. Crabapple argues that artists foresaw these dangers, emphasizing that tech giants' visions threaten community bonds.
Key facts
- Generative AI is described as problematic in 2026
- Artist Molly Crabapple criticizes AI as theft
- AI outputs are referred to as "slop" online
- AI company CEOs claim their products make jobs obsolete
- Generative AI uses large amounts of water for data centers
- Chatbots have caused hallucinations and teen suicides
- Crabapple saw plagiarized versions of her work in 2022
- Artists predicted the negative impacts of AI