CONCEPTUALIZING AI ART

Words and photos by Joelle de Poto

AI art is a divisive issue among contemporary artists living and working in the 2020s. While some artists are eager to use AI-generated images as a tool for creation, others are hesitant to toy with an intelligence that could potentially take away their creative employment. Even though AI image generators, such as DALL-E 2, have brought innovation that has made AI more reliable and imaginative, many complications are still worth noting.

The Downsides of the AI Algorithms

While AI art technically creates unique text and images, its data set is sourced from preexisting images and text, most of which are public domain but some of which are copyrighted. Even though human art often involves the application of information collected from other media, much like AI art, human art also allows for the synthesis of collected information with personal experience, emotion, and nuance.

In this set of images, I explored word associations by recreating single-word feelings using expressive photography in the simplest, most predictable way possible.

Depression: I depicted myself as a sad girl lying in her bed, hiding from the light, and crying with mascara tears running down her face.

Love: I portrayed an affectionate cis-het couple hugging each other, appearing to be swaying as if they are slow-dancing. I used a light in the shape of an iconographic heart.

Appropriation or Piracy?

Many artists condemn AI art because many of their datasets contain content derived from independent artists and illustrators without their consent. Some argue that AI image generators simply appropriate artists’ work, but at what point is appropriation a violation of the original artists’ intellectual and artistic property?

I appropriated Cassatt’s painting by recreating the pose, coloring, and composition almost exactly. Would it be fair for me to take full credit for this composition without paying homage to Cassatt or even mentioning her name? Luckily, this piece is public domain, but even with that legal knowledge, I still feel compelled to acknowledge Cassatt as my inspiration.

Here’s another example. In this one I am recreating a Munch piece. In high school, when I was applying to art colleges, I was always warned not to recreate paintings, photographs or any piece of art and claim it as my own work, especially if the composition is the same. Why are college-bound high school students, who are usually not even legal adults, held to higher expectations than advanced AI image generators about respecting artistic property?

You’re Just a Statistic

AI apps that use images of an individual’s face to “recognize” their features and manipulate them often rely on stereotypes. Usually, the AI image generator will make feminine presenting people appear more conventionally attractive,Eurocentric, and thin. I have also found that AI tends to draw almost all feminine-appearing Asian people as East Asian.

Are AI-generated images the future of art?

While the humans desiring to integrate AI into art is not inherently problematic, it yields many unprecedented problems regarding artistic integrity, ethics, and stereotypes. Since art is a tool and outlet for human reaction and a method of response to internal and physical environmental surroundings, and human art-enjoyers seek these qualities out in art, AI art will likely not replace human art, at least not for a while.