Wie is er bang voor AI in de kunst?

Wanneer je de beelden bekijkt van @wanderskyhigh en @manasbhatiadesign (Instagram) dan kan ik niet anders denken dan dat het wel degelijk kunst is. De kunstenaar is met AI technieken aan het werk om een bepaald beeld te maken wat hij voor ogen heeft. AI zorgt voor nieuwe, andere, creativiteit. (Een vraag die zich bij me opdringt: Wat als Antoni Gaudi AI zou hebben gehad voor zijn architectuur ontwerpen?

Fotografie veranderde ooit. Van de doka ging men over naar de computer. Zijn fotografen daar minder creatief door geworden? Sommige fotografen zoals @alex_timmermans en @petereleveld kiezen voor het werken met oude camera’s en afdruktechnieken. Zijn zij dan meer kunstenaar dan iemand die digitaal werkt? De kunstenaar kiest het medium voor een specifiek idee. En naar mijn idee kan dat dus ook het AI medium zijn.

Ik ben niet bang voor AI. De ene keer zal ik het uit nieuwsgierigheid gebruiken om te kijken hoe iets uitpakt, de andere keer om inspiratie te krijgen of een gedeelte te gebruiken in een groter werk. Het is een andere manier van werken die net zo kunstzinnig kan zijn.

Françoise

Who's Afraid of Artificial Intelligence in Art?

When I heard an older gentleman at an exhibition of my work say last weekend that photography isn't art, "You just press a button and you're done!", it cut through my soul for a moment. Usually, I can quickly let go of such comments, but this time it lingered. Reflecting on what art really is, I thought about how the art world is currently in turmoil about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating art. The fear of being replaced by a computer's algorithms as an artist is understandable. I remember my very first angry reaction to the neural filters in Photoshop and the photo filters on Instagram. "Can just anyone create art so easily now?!"

No one enjoys being replaced by new technologies and being overwhelmed by the fear that you no longer matter. However, my fear quickly turned into curiosity. "Show me that AI then!" I thought. As I experimented with various photos using the neural filters, I was amazed time and again. A summer landscape could instantly turn into a winter one with the press of a button! I couldn't have imagined this when I started with Photoshop 1.0 thirty years ago.

Driven by my insatiable curiosity about AI, I tried out Midjourney. It's an online app where, in short, you can upload a photo and provide keywords, such as a specific perspective and/or art style.

So, I did just that. I uploaded a few of my photos, added keywords, and let the computer do its thing. In disbelief, I looked at the new images the program had created. It wasn't my style, but what creativity! I browsed through the work of others and found myself in a kind of fantasy world with incredibly unique landscapes, buildings, and human figures.

Besides the fact that it's an art in itself to come up with the right keywords, one might wonder if it's art when you let the computer generate something based on language and millions of collected images, instead of crafting it by hand. Perhaps that's also what the aforementioned older gentleman meant, that he doesn't consider photography art because it lacks the manual work that comes with painting, sculpting, welding, or woodworking.

When you look at the images above by @wanderskyhigh and @manasbhatiadesign (Instagram), I can't help but think that it is indeed art. The artist is using AI techniques to create a specific image that they have in mind. AI adds a new, different kind of creativity. (A question that arises: What if Antoni Gaudi had AI for his architectural designs?)

Photography changed once. From the darkroom, we transitioned to the computer. Did photographers become less creative because of that change? Some photographers like @alex_timmermans and @petereleveld choose to work with old cameras and printing techniques. Are they then more artists than those who work digitally? The artist chooses the medium for a specific idea. And in my opinion, that medium can also be AI.

I'm not afraid of AI. Sometimes, I'll use it out of curiosity to see how something turns out, other times to gain inspiration or to incorporate a part into a larger work. It's a different way of working that can be just as artistic.

Françoise