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Presenter: Molly Katherine Horn

Faculty Sponsor: Beatrice St. Laurent

School: Bridgewater State University

Research Area: Art & Design

Session: Poster Session 3, 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM, Auditorium, A20

ABSTRACT

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been deeply integrated into our modern lives: social media algorithms, email summaries, and software to write essays. This software is trained on countless data points sourced from our lives without permission, compensation, or accountability. This technology’s rapid development coupled with its accessibility and unknown limitations has prevented the implementation of effective regulations to address exploitation, copyright, and privacy rights. This study discusses AI in the arts: its history, artists, applications, and intersection into fields such as neuroscience, and politics. Research for this study involved visits to collections and museums locally and regionally. 

The purpose of this project is to evaluate whether the products of AI can be classified as independent works of art, and their creators, artists. AI art is a contentious topic, primarily due to the discourse over authorship and ownership of its creative works. AI’s data gathering has scraped art styles, artwork and archives to develop generative software like Sora 2, DALL-E, or ChatGPT. If we uphold the works of these platforms as art, does there remain any value in human-made art? While I do not believe AI art should be considered equal to human-made art, I acknowledge its nuances, and the work of its emerging artists. With the pervasiveness of AI, we must work to integrate AI art in a regulated, open, and beneficial manner.