Artificial Intelligence has impacted art, artworks and artists, using algorithms to create images and trying to imitate the human cognitive mind. There are pros and cons regarding this practice that is impacting the art world.
Related Articles: Art Brussels 2024, the fair is celebrating its 40 years anniversary with a special project around the city, The Milan Design Week has made an incredible record during its 62nd edition, The importance of art walls inside the new floating houses, a dive into Yacht interior design.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ventured beyond the realms of science and technology, entering the creative world. AI-generated art is a phenomenon where art is created with the use of technology using advanced algorithms. AI art is reshaping perceptions of art and creativity, becoming ever more common as an artistic practice. However, the use of AI to create art is not new. The first time that it was introduced it was in the 1960s, where scientists first experimented with computer programming to create simple patterns and shapes. Over the decades, with the advancement of technology, the complexity of the artwork also had developed becoming a proper form of art. Today, technologies like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and neural style transfer have enabled AI to produce works that are indistinguishable from those created by human hands.
At the core of AI-generated art are GANs, a class of machine learning frameworks designed to produce content. GANs involve two neural networks— a generator and a discriminator— which work against each other to improve the quality and realism of the output. This technology not only facilitates the creation of new images but also enables AI to learn and replicate specific artistic styles. Alexander Mordvintsev’s DeepDream algorithm was one of the first artistic applications of GANs. In 2015, Mordvintsev, a Google researcher, found a way to plumb the hidden depths of a neural network and study how machines learn visual concepts. The training of GANs on different images, from photographs of cats and dogs to paintings by old masters, became an increasingly widespread practice among scientists and experimental creatives in the following years. In 2018 a rendered print by a Paris-based collective called Obvious was auchtioned at Christies for $432,500. The auction of Portrait of Edmond Belamy was the first sale of an AI artwork at an auction. These episode reflected a growing acceptance and curiosity about AI's role in art. Nowadays, numerous artists working in the field of AI art, expanding the opportunities for contemporary art. One example is Refik Anadol, who was among the first to work with this technology during an artistic residency at Google seven years ago. His artworks transform and react to the viewer’s movements or external agents, never repeating themselves. “Unsupervised,” Anadol’s artwork exhibited at MoMA, reflects on technology, creativity, and modern art.
Moreover, AI is also helping in the creation of new machines able to detect and recognise fraud. This technological tools are changing the way conservations and collectors think about art attribution. A Swiss company created an AI system called Art Recognition which was able to authenticate an art work under discussion said to be created by Rubens. The art work “Samson and Delliah” (1609) in the National Gallery in London was detected to be not from Rubens.
Eventhough AI art is very innovative and it is becoming ever more popular, there are some controversies around this form of art as well. AI-generated art is at a crossroads of innovation and controversy. While it offers a new medium for expression and creativity, it also challenges the traditional norms of the art world. As we advance, it will be crucial to navigate these challenges thoughtfully, ensuring that AI enhances rather than diminishes the human experience of art.
Written by Kooness
