Why would you want AI art
30/04/2024
With the continuous development of AI technology, AI fever similar to chatgpt and midjourney types is growing, which not only brings economic growth and provides new opportunities, but also triggers the moral panic of AI and people's sense of crisis about their own survival.
Artificial Intelligence art is essentially an algorithm that constantly learns from the information provided by humans and trains it to be the production tool that people need, and the high efficiency and low threshold of use satisfies contemporary production methods, while people begin to reflect on the question, "What is real art?" Since the development of Artificial Intelligence Art, the discussion of art and its definition has reached an unprecedented level.
Why do we need art with artificial intelligence? One reason is that the way we perceive society has changed, and with it the function of art. Benjamin saw the shift in art as a result of structural changes in the economy. Art is becoming akin to economic production, and traditionally artworks were experienced primarily through remote contemplation. After the era of mechanical reproduction, modern forms of culture such as photographs, television programs, and movies do not lend themselves to contemplation. They are commanding, challenging, excite the viewer, and set up signposts. The sensory perspective of every human being is not entirely biological or natural. It is also historical. The way people perceive changes in society, or "the whole of human existence" (Andy McLaverty-Robinson).
With the development of the information age, there is an urgent need for visual and dynamic modes of information dissemination, replacing the traditional text-based information, while the development of self-media has led to the pursuit of rapid and efficient sensory stimulation. Art is now acquiring "a whole new function". (Walter Benjamin). In the past, art was the privilege of a few, but since the 1990s it has spread into the public sphere, and after the era of mechanical reproduction, the aura of the artwork has diminished and the function of art has evolved, as art has become a means of production and creativity has become a means of production.
We are in the midst of a total corporatization and marketization of the art field, in which the specific artistic values and criteria that marked the relative autonomy of the art field have been replaced by quantitative criteria in museums, galleries, and art discourse, in which projects are increasingly determined by sales (of artworks, box office, and advertising) (Andrea Fraser)
The advent of the self-publishing era has given everyone the opportunity to create. The difference between creators and audiences disappeared. Everyone can now claim to be a subject of culture. Artificial Intelligence subverts the power relationship between artist and viewer. Artificial Intelligence now transforms the work of art from private property into a public production resource, where everyone can create their own work using the descriptor "Van Gogh style".
People today have gained the ability to express themselves, but they have also become productive tools. Contemporary art, combined with institutionalization, marketing and media, has gained unprecedented popularity. However, its "avant-garde" and experimental nature has been simultaneously replaced by art's new status as a commodity and a fashionable gimmick for the well-intentioned new middle class. (Hou Hanru)
Nowadays, with the saturation of the art market and the unevenness of aesthetics, styles and personal signatures are more and more becoming trademarks rather than elements of cultural communication (Luis Camnitze). Privileged societies have unprecedented means and needs of consumption. Culture becomes a usable product (John Armleder).As an interaction design student, AI design is an area of great interest to me. Every time a new medium emerges, it has the power to be progressive, to make people reflect on past relationships, and to provide new channels for the dissemination of different perspectives.
During my undergraduate design I did interviews on the topic of AI and human collaboration, to learn from different groups of design and art students about their views on AI, and I was impressed by the thoughts of one of my product design students, who believed that the emergence of AI art has made people start to think about what makes a human being human, and that the emergence of AI has forced the art industry to reflect on this.
What is the nature of creativity when everyone can create high quality works of art by simply describing them in words? How does this affect social life? Are modern artists going through the same de-embodiment and losing their aura?
So with that in mind I created this comic about a man who works with artificial intelligence only to be eliminated from society and find opportunity in it. I wanted to explore in this comic how AI art can be used to increase human creativity. Technology's are an extension of humanity (Marshall Mcluhan), the creation of new technologies has fostered new genres of art, and AI has allowed for a wider trend of globalization of art that is no longer limited by the physical space and time in which the artwork exists. Can art that looks subtly AI-sensitive be a new genre of art than imitating humans with AI?
The form of this comic I used to co-create with Midjourney, using assisted-generated effects as backgrounds to produce a lot of unexpected images in accordance with the textual requirements I provided, and this comic also serves as a result of my attempts to work with AI.