AI Art

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic these days. I have posted several blogs on the subject, because I find it fascinating. We are moving toward a future in which AI will be playing an increasing role in human society. That role is something being eagerly awaited by some people and feared by others. 

Those who are enthusiastic, look forward to smart machines that will do boring jobs faster and better than any human can, machines that will speedily accomplish complex computational calculations, will discover new and remarkable things, will drive cars and pilot airplanes far more safely than humans, and will take on dangerous activities that threaten the safety of people. A bright future is the promise of Ai enthusiasts.

Those who are apprehensive—even downright fearful—of AI worry about good jobs (even those requiring university education) being appropriated by machines. Others are concerned that deep-learning AI computers that write their own science fiction-like algorithms are beginning to do things their human creators don't fully understand. The designers are being left behind, as the machines race off into states of advanced capabilities that are, at the very least, rather intimidating. Some people worry that these super-intelligent AI machines at some point might become hostile to humans and begin to turn against us… and even eliminate us, if they have become that superior.

Either extreme described above is quite unlikely to happen. Time will reveal the outcome. AI holds great promise, as it simultaneously poses a potential threat. How it will turn out will be largely determined by how cautious innovators are. History tends to show, however, that many technological innovations have turned out to become dangerous, because precaution was ignored while they were being developed.

Let’s turn to another, more benign, area in which AI is making inroads: the arts. Some fascinating—if not always creative—music compositions, visual compositions, and even literature have been produced by computers. Some people would take issue over calling AI art creative; and of course, creativity—as well as art—is in the eye of the beholder. That issue will likely be dealt with, as AI art develops.

Several interesting questions are raised by AI art. Is the process and its product something done solely by a machine, or is it a kind of collaboration between computer and human? Is art more properly considered to be a form of communication done only between humans—maybe moderated or enhanced by a machine—but in the end, confined to some form of human-to-human connection? In other words, does meaningful art have to come from one organic mind and then be conveyed to another organic mind? 

Could we tell if a story or song was composed by a computer, or might the “art” seem overly mechanical? On the other hand, if it was good, would weS care? Can AI be truly creative, or is it destined to be forever imitative—just shuffling around human ideas and coming up with new combinations? 

Again, the future will provide us answers. Will AI become increasingly human-like or will we humans become increasingly machine-like? Will people and machines merge someday into some kind of conscious, self-aware robot?