By the Zonagirante.com team @spinning zone
🖋️ Introduction
Steve D. McDonald is a Canadian artist and illustrator who has skillfully and curiously combined traditional and digital techniques. He works under the username... @stevedmcdonald On Instagram, it's presented like this: “Old school artist using new school tools. Analog/digital & AI.”
In addition to her visual work—including best-selling coloring books, editorial work, and illustrations for various media—McDonald has offered a weary look at the myths surrounding artificial intelligence in art: instead of being alarmed, she raises questions that are often silenced.
In that spirit, we share below a complete text of his (with due acknowledgment) because we believe that from the Latin American creative scene it is also in our best interest to examine those doubts, those resistances and those possibilities that he addresses.
📜 Translation of the text by Steve D. McDonald
Apparently, AI is stealing, polluting, destroying jobs, and ruining art. Let's talk about why none of that is entirely true, and why the truth is much more interesting.
Every time I post about AI and art, someone shows up with a pitchfork and a moral compass. Fine. But before you declare the death of creativity, here are eight myths that keep circulating… and why I don't buy them.
“AI is theft.” Crime thrives in a copyright system designed for corporations, not creators. As @ saysdisa_fran, Art has always been a remix. Every artist reworks the past. The problem isn't reuse. It's how unfairly we reward those who add something to the shared pool of ideas.
“There is no authorship with AI.” Authorship was never divine. It is shaped by people, tools, and time. AI, like a paintbrush or a camera, co-shapes what we do. To say that a prompt is not authorship is like saying that a photograph is not art because it begins with a click.
“AI pollutes.” Sure, but everything digital does. Streaming, gaming, and travel consume far more energy. The real issue is who controls the energy and who benefits from it.
“AI only produces garbage.” Most AI art is mediocre. So is human art. Every new medium starts out chaotic before it matures. Mediocrity is not failure. It is the breeding ground for originality.
“If you don’t use your hands, it’s not art.” In that case, photography, film, and electronic music wouldn’t exist. Art isn’t defined by the tool. It’s defined by intention and awareness.
“AI was created by capitalists.” True, but so were paint tubes, cameras, and computers. The goal isn't opposition. It's access. Open models, shared GPUs, and transparent data turn technology into a common good, not a monopoly.
“AI is stealing my job.” Tools don’t fire people. People do. When companies blame AI for layoffs, they’re hiding a machine behind a curtain. If technology improves work, its benefits should be shared, not hoarded.
“AI art cannot be copyrighted.” A work created entirely by AI cannot be copyrighted, and that’s fair. But once human input or intent comes into play, AI becomes a tool, not a creator. Copyright law already recognizes this.
AI isn't killing creativity. It's revealing how little we've valued it.
🔍 Our thoughts on Zonagirante.com
We at Zonagirante.com discovered that many of our concerns were already outlined in this text: that AI is not the enemy; that the real problem is the system that has defined who creates, how they create, and what is considered "valuable".
We work daily with musicians, illustrators, and creators who already use AI, Photoshop, synthesizers, or whatever they have at hand, and often their concern is something else entirely: receiving recognition, gaining visibility, and getting paid. Not the tool itself.
That's why, when we read McDonald, we feel at home: he states that Intention matters more than the instrument, And that creativity has always been remix, always remixing, always dialogue.
And we say that in Latin America, where resources are more scarce, AI can be a door, not a trap.
Finally, we believe that the task is not to demonize the new medium, but to create the conditions for those who use it—independent creators—to have a voice, fair pay, and real opportunities.
AI doesn't replace the human perspective. It complements it. And we are here to value it and to offer it within an ecosystem that remains ours, pluralistic, and free.
