What happens to an artist when artificial intelligence (AI) overtakes their craft? Would those who built the very intricacies of modern and classical foundations from, say, the medieval and Renaissance periods condemn the contemporary AI-generated manifestation of art? It’s hard to say. But while AI represents the latest advancement in artistic technology, it ultimately deters future creativity and demotes originality in artistry.
As we reference past masters like Michaelangelo and Caravaggio, comparisons between their work and AI-generated art bear a glaring difference: a lack of feeling and human care and a lack of context. Past artists used physical media to create honest artworks that hinted at the divine and religious eras surrounding their environment and beliefs in their time. Spiritually, their work discloses the weight of tradition and how different artistic mediums yield mastery over time. Caravaggio’s baroque painting style of realistic depiction of subjects in religious scenes shows his innovative use of light and shadow to cue the tonal depth of his more thoughtful pieces, like “The Calling of Saint Matthew.” Although AI can also utilize light and shadow in its artistic process, it lacks the political and religious context artists like Caravaggio portray in their work.
On the other hand, Michelangelo, whose work rose to fame during the Renaissance, combines a utilitarian approach with shifting choices of medium, from painting to sculpture to architecture. His most famous works almost always involved the world around him, and he was constantly driven by the impulse to reflect the society of the time.
The contrast in analyzing traditional works and those of AI exhibits a barrier of entry for computational modeling to ‘unlock’ creativity. Creativity is a human reserve, one that requires years and years of practice and innovation sparked by the technical and intangible progress of the human race. To the old pros, and even current artists, art serves a deeper meaning than the surface-level generation of AI computational matching language.
AI-generated art relies on artificial intelligence algorithms, particularly machine learning techniques such as deep learning, to create or assist in creating artistic content. A prime example of this is “Edmond de Belamy,” a blurry portrait of a man on a sullen background that was generated by an algorithm trained on past examples of portraiture. Oftentimes, these kinds of algorithms override the intricate indicators for creativity, as they lack feeling and context. This in turn depersonalizes art, as art allows the underrepresented segment of society to tap into creative outlets and depict context.
As we move forward in art movements, it is necessary to note that art imitates life, just as much as life imitates art. The founding principle behind this theory is all around us, in the way that humans have idolized, ruminated on and constructed pieces of art that reflect their political, religious and personal stances since the beginning of time. Art is the ultimate form of communication and connection that ties us all together and provides a visual context for the life we live through, binding historical events in society as a collective. This practice is practically impossible for AI to achieve, as only humans can interpret the complexity behind the context in which art is created.
In essence, AI is already affecting the landscape of creativity. Knowing this, AI could, in turn, affect future politics and marketing campaigns by stifling political thought, emotions and human responses amidst an already highly technologically-advanced society. Political propaganda would look different, and job markets for artists and marketing firms would thin out in the long run economically. This puts maximum productivity in the hands of machine algorithms and discourages economic growth and globalization from an artistic and economic standpoint. Although it serves as a tool for ideation, AI can be seen as opening a Pandora’s box for future generations. While it offers immense capabilities, it disables original thought and destroys creativity.
