Week 3: Robotics & Art
This week’s reading and lecture videos, along with some personal research, allowed me to think more deeply about the impact of mechanization on art. With the recent advancements in AI technology and its accessibility to the general public, many questions have been raised about its impact on art and artists. Tyler Cowen puts the rate of AI advancements in perspective by simply stating: “For a long time, nothing happens, and then all of a sudden something does” (Cowen, 2023). This rapid advancement is a welcome change for some, but others deem it terrifying.
While reading Walter Benjamin’s piece “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, one quote stood out to me: “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be” (Benjamin, 1936). If we were to think of a piece of historical art, say the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, we almost immediately start thinking about the creator of the art as well. When did Da Vinci create this art? Why did he do it? What was he thinking that led to such a creation? How, if at all, did his personal life and background affect his method of painting the Mona Lisa?
Unfortunately, none of the above questions can be answered by an AI. It’s all just numbers and math doing all the work. There is no feeling or personalization attached to art created by AI. One, however, can argue that AI can learn to be personal and emotional in art. One movie that showcases this contradiction is Ex Machina. In the movie, Ava, the AI-powered robot, creates artwork that conveys emotions and feelings.
References:
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London, Penguin Books, 1936.
Cowen, Tyler. “AI Is Advancing Far Faster than Most People Realise.” TechCentral, 24 Jan. 2023, techcentral.co.za/ai-is-advancing-faster-than-most-people-realise/219636/.
Ex Machina. Directed by Alex Garland, A24, 16 Dec. 2014.
Mineo, Liz. “Is Art Generated by Artificial Intelligence Real Art?” Harvard Gazette, The Harvard Gazette, 15 Aug. 2023, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/.
Strickland, Eliza. “12 Graphs That Explain the State of AI in 2022.” IEEE Spectrum, 17 Mar. 2022, spectrum.ieee.org/artificial-intelligence-index.
Wadelton, Alex. “AI-Generated Portraits Question the Influence of Historic Figures in an Era of Smartphones.” Designboom | Architecture & Design Magazine, 9 Oct. 2023, www.designboom.com/art/ai-generated-portraits-historic-figures-smartphones-alex-wadelton-what-could-have-been-10-09-2023/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Winn, Zach. “If Art Is How We Express Our Humanity, Where Does AI Fit In?” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 June 2023, news.mit.edu/2023/generative-ai-art-expression-0615.
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| Figure 1: Global investment (in billions of $) in AI over the past decade. AI is one of the fastest-growing industries and is not expected to slow down anytime soon. Credit: Eliza Strickland via IEEE |
While reading Walter Benjamin’s piece “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, one quote stood out to me: “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be” (Benjamin, 1936). If we were to think of a piece of historical art, say the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, we almost immediately start thinking about the creator of the art as well. When did Da Vinci create this art? Why did he do it? What was he thinking that led to such a creation? How, if at all, did his personal life and background affect his method of painting the Mona Lisa?
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Figure 2: AI-generated painting of Claude Monet using a phone. This is to showcase AI's ability to produce historic-like paintings almost (and sometimes completely) indistinguishable from human art. Credit: Alex Wadelton via DesignBoom |
Unfortunately, none of the above questions can be answered by an AI. It’s all just numbers and math doing all the work. There is no feeling or personalization attached to art created by AI. One, however, can argue that AI can learn to be personal and emotional in art. One movie that showcases this contradiction is Ex Machina. In the movie, Ava, the AI-powered robot, creates artwork that conveys emotions and feelings.
Video 1: Trailer of Ex Machina. This video is a supplement to the reference made earlier.
Credit: A24 via YouTube
Now that AI creates art, we must all entertain one ultimate question: is AI-generated art real art? Some argue that for any artwork, there is, and must be, a personality. Zach Winn echoes this belief by expressing that “Art is how we express our humanity. It’s a core human, emotional part of life” (Winn, 2023). Others, like Liz Mineo, argue that “AI is acting like a sort of collective unconscious” (Mineo, 2023) and welcome the challenges that AI brings to the art industry.
A24. “Ex Machina | Official Trailer HD.” Www.youtube.com, 3 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=bggUmgeMCdc&ab_channel=A24. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London, Penguin Books, 1936.
Cowen, Tyler. “AI Is Advancing Far Faster than Most People Realise.” TechCentral, 24 Jan. 2023, techcentral.co.za/ai-is-advancing-faster-than-most-people-realise/219636/.
Ex Machina. Directed by Alex Garland, A24, 16 Dec. 2014.
Mineo, Liz. “Is Art Generated by Artificial Intelligence Real Art?” Harvard Gazette, The Harvard Gazette, 15 Aug. 2023, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/.
Strickland, Eliza. “12 Graphs That Explain the State of AI in 2022.” IEEE Spectrum, 17 Mar. 2022, spectrum.ieee.org/artificial-intelligence-index.
Wadelton, Alex. “AI-Generated Portraits Question the Influence of Historic Figures in an Era of Smartphones.” Designboom | Architecture & Design Magazine, 9 Oct. 2023, www.designboom.com/art/ai-generated-portraits-historic-figures-smartphones-alex-wadelton-what-could-have-been-10-09-2023/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Winn, Zach. “If Art Is How We Express Our Humanity, Where Does AI Fit In?” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 June 2023, news.mit.edu/2023/generative-ai-art-expression-0615.
Hello Amin, I enjoyed reading your blog and how this was able to display the power that AI is having on art. This is relatively a new topic in relation to the two combined and it's going to be very interesting how this will affect the transparency of art down the road. I do agree with you in the fact that AI shouldn't be considered real art. Thanks for the interesting blog this week!
ReplyDeleteHi Amin! I agree with your connection between AI and its impact on artists within today's society. AI plays a role in the removal of emotion and the value of presence that physical art holds. AI's ability to recreate and reproduce historical-looking pieces of art removes the authenticity from the world of art. You truly cant tell if a piece has a unique emotional meaning or is simply just created robotically!
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