The Artist in the Machine: Exploring Generative AI & Creativity

When Generative AI hit the scene – people’s imaginations ran wild. Tools like DALL-E 3, Midjourney, Ideogram, and Davinci produce engaging images with generative AI tech; guided by user prompts. Back in the day, if one wanted a picture of Shrek marrying Sully from Monsters Inc. or The Last Supper featuring the Muppets it was a more arduous process. The piece would have to be commissioned by an artist with the skillset for the job, or created by the person themselves. While generative AI engages people’s imaginations and produces customized images rapidly, it has raised many ethical dilemmas. In addition to automating creative labor, it leverages pre-existing art pieces without artists’ knowledge or consent.

To produce generative art AI tools reference pre-existing images; scraping information and visual components and re-creating based on user prompts. The art referenced and extracted from was originally created by humans, who get no credit or compensation. Are Generative AI tools an innovative approach to creating content, or technocratic? Can art – the ultimate expression of the human experience, truly be meaningful if it is a product of an algorithm? Consequently, generative art receives significant backlash from both artists and the public due to its ethical complications. It produces visuals rapidly and cheaply; undermining the talents and efforts of the human artist. Lacking intrinsic creativity, generative artificial intelligence tools exploit concepts and visuals from people.

Generative art is also implicated in larger dialogs surrounding deep fakes and propaganda. It can be exploited to create a realistic-looking video of a politician speaking to their constituents, or misleading images falsely representing a person or event. Social media platforms have attempted to combat this with labels for AI-generated content, however this does not prevent their circulation and consumption. While there are certain “tells” for AI-generated images (hands having the incorrect number of fingers, etc.) media literacy and critical analysis are key. From copyright claims to defamation lawsuits – generative AI opened Pandora’s box.

Many artists raise the question – am I being replaced? Can tools and algorithms capture raw emotionality and expressions of the soul? For this artist (who only represents herself) – the answer is no. Similar to emotion, AI can mimic human feelings but not genuinely experience them. Generative art can produce unique content, but is not genuinely imaginative. However, this can feel like a moot point, considering that businesses and individuals are outsourcing to AI rather than commissioning creative professionals. The value of people’s imagination, creative talents, and voices cannot be undermined or replaced.

Some artists are embracing artificial intelligence tools for the production of art; like Alexander Reuben and Sougwen Chung. These artists challenge traditional formalist perspectives on what is art and how hands-on the artist should be in creation. AI artists and their subversive approach parallels other times in art history when technology or apprentices did the heavy lifting for the credited creator. During the renaissance, students of the master executed out their mentor’s visions. Contemporary artist Jeff Koons delegates fabrication to his team of assistants rather than creating pieces independently. Arguably, AI artists are employing a similar methodology with emergent technology. AI artists have the potential to open important dialogs about technology and society, and leverage a new tool for creative expression.

In the commercial space, generative AI has empowered marketing professionals to create engaging visuals for their content. It has significant utility in ideation and rapid prototyping; producing different variations of a visual concept. While generative AI’s value in the art world is highly contentious, it is practical and usable for business. It can also be used in conjunction with creative professional’s practice; facilitating the automation of 26% of design tasks during the process. Cognizance of artificial intelligence tools for creative production helps professionals stay competitive and streamline their workflows. Artists and designers can accommodate more clients or hit deadlines faster by leveraging AI tools in combination with the hands-on components of their practice. Generative AI can be employed to rapidly ideate or explore variations of a concept or visual - facilitating the decision making process for cross-functional teams.

On a personal note, many people who know me as a painter are perplexed by my co-existing passion for artificial intelligence. My short answer is “people can like more than one thing”. My pretentious answer is artists and scientists have a lot more in common than people assume. Both are futurists, deeply invested in their creations, and synthesize their minds, hearts, and hands. Generative art raises thought-provoking questions on ethical technology and contemporary art. As poet and academic Cesar A. Cruz famously said art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. The potential for artists to leverage AI and explore questions of technology, society, and human identity is infinite. And as masterpieces of the past are still hung in museums and studied by art history students today; the human touch and the human experience will never be discarded or replaced.