AI art is often deemed as not real art, as if it were simply a form of art developed by prompts and binary codes. However, there are others who see AI art as a revolutionary step in the realm of creativity. Both views hold weight. I believe AI art has both opportunities and challenges but will likely never reach the level of connectivity and depth as a piece physically created by a person.
In traditional times, art brought about revolution and shaped societies and individuals through provoking emotions, inspiring actions and connecting communities. Art invites deeply emotional and personal interpretation from its viewers. Unlike humans, AI still needs to work on its sentiment analysis to understand art in its true essence.
Sophomore computer science (CSCI) major Tanzif Avishek, who is taking an honors art class this semester, considers AI Art on a superficial level, void of artistic values.
“When I hear the term ‘AI art,’ I guess the first thing that comes to my mind is bland-looking artwork generated by a computer,” Avishek said. “While I do think AI art can look good, the vast majority of it looks like trash, and I wouldn’t consider somebody an artist if all they did was type a prompt into an AI image generator.”
Moreover, AI raises ethical concerns as most AI-generated artwork is trained on vast corpora of human-created art, usually without the original artists’ consent. Often referred to online as “AI slop,” AI-generated artwork is dismissed as low-quality, meaningless images produced with nothing more than a single prompt.
Allen Parrish, an assistant professor in the School of Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA), is apprehensive about the authorship of AI art.
“AI is giving us skepticism about authorship, and a desire for something authentically human,” Parrish said.
AI art can serve as a valuable tool for inspiration rather than something to create and claim as entirely your own. It can even be used in a fun, casual way to explore experimental ideas. Parrish believes these algorithms should remain in this role, arguing that AI is useful for inspiration but not for creation. If an artist relies on it in the creative process, it discredits much of their work.
AI art can likely never replace human art. It is unlikely that galleries or museums will ever celebrate AI art in the same way as traditional works. Ultimately, art’s power lies in how deeply it connects with us – a depth that algorithms have yet to reach.
