Right now, we are witnessing a new way of perceiving art, one of scepticism and constant critique. Our eyes are drawn to subtle discrepancies and potential mistakes to prove that the art was not made with human hands but rather generated by artificial intelligence. The negative term “AI Art” can be applied to many fields, the most common types we associate it with are pictures made through generative programs such as DALL-E, art drawn with robotic arms like the works of Sougwen Chung, or feeding sounds into AI models to create music as Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst do. The works of Chung, Herndon, and Dryhurst are all about how humans can use AI programs to enhance their art. However, the use of generative programs to create entire works of art has begun to set a worrying precedent for how art is created.
Generative AI art has earned a reputation for being used by independent artists, or rather, people with little artistic experience. Grok, an AI tool created by X (formerly Twitter) has seen extensive usage in non-artistic circles due to its ability to rapidly generate imagery for conversation, whether that’s for visual aids or making memes. Despite AI-generated art being declared a new age for creation, the usage of generative AI as a casual tool for online conversation has lessened its image as a serious development in the world of art.
However, this practice has now been taken on by well-known companies for marketing purposes. Last Christmas, Coca-Cola made headlines when they used generative AI as part of their iconic yearly Christmas marketing campaign. The advertisement came under scrutiny, with people describing its imagery as uncanny and disturbing. Blank, open mouths over blurry imagery that could be vaguely described as “festive”. The decision to use AI for the advertisement has been discussed, but a likely reason brought up in debates is that it reduces labour costs. When generative AI began to make waves in film and television production in 2023, Adrian Horton noted in The Guardian that it had come at a time when writers and actors in Hollywood were on strike. The decision to use generative AI was interpreted by many as a sign to creatives that artificial intelligence had arrived, and it could easily replace them.
These debates are often centred around artists being replaced by AI, but what about the aforementioned artists who are using this new technology to enhance their own art? Earlier this year, Sougwen Chung made headlines for her art installation ‘Spectral’, where an AI, trained from her own painting strokes, was used to command a robotic arm to paint in her style. In a profile for The Art Newspaper, Chung stated her belief in the possibilities of human-machine collaboration, asking “What does it mean to co-create with a machine?” Co-creation with machines seems like an inevitable future, it is the natural progression for art. The presence of artificial intelligence in mainstream marketing, art, music, and film production means that this technology cannot be stopped, it’s the new great art form. The question is not how it can be stopped; the question is how it can be used. Artists like Chung show a human interest in new technology and are aware of their responsibility to use AI as assistance rather than the sole tool of creation as Coca-Cola does.
Words by Waseet Ahmed Naser
Photo courtesy of Cash Macanaya via Unsplash