I quit my Google software engineering job and became a watercolor artist. Here’s how I’m using — and not using — AI.
Former Google software engineer Sara Wilczynska shares how she integrates AI into her watercolor art business for administrative tasks while maintaining a strict boundary against using it for creative output. She emphasizes that AI should be a tool for efficiency rather than a replacement for human artistic expression.
Why it matters
This perspective highlights the evolving relationship between creative professionals and generative AI, focusing on ethical boundaries and business utility.
Watercolor artist Sara Wilczynska explains how she uses AI to help her with her business — and where she draws the line with the technology. Courtesy of Sara Wilczynska Sara Wilczynska is a Google software engineer turned watercolor artist in San Diego. She uses AI to help her as a business owner with planning, bookkeeping, copyediting, and coaching. However, she says she has a clear boundary of not using AI to generate any of her actual artwork. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sara Wilczynska, a 41-year-old watercolor artist and founder of Swil Arts who lives in San Diego. Prior to her art career, she worked as a software engineer in the finance and tech industries before quitting her job at Google in 2022. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I started using AI pretty early on.
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