The emergence of Artificial Intelligence-based tools, in general, and specifically for the creation of art, has raised several questions for me as an artist and photographer. This is the first in a series of posts where I intend to explore some of these questions, but more fundamentally, I wonder if the output of an AI-based tool can be considered art and if so, what are the conditions for ethical use?
I first need to clarify what it means to democratize art, or for that matter, all those things that in recent years have become democratized. Most definitions of the term refer to a political evolution towards a system of democratic governance, so its use to describe some sort of evolution in publishing, news, technology, and now art, seems inappropriate.
Etymology Online provides a broader definition which includes to “make popular or common, bring to a common level”.[i] The first inference one can draw from this clarification, and the one most often assumed, is to allow more people to publish material, to use technology, or to make art. The second inference, for this discussion, is to make art more accessible to a broader audience[ii]. Returning to the political definition, if democratization is a move from, say, an autocratic to a democratic system where the power is moved from the dictator to the people, then the analogue for art is where power is transferred from the “elites” to the “masses” (both in terms of creating art and consuming it).
Technology is a key enabler of each of these democratization processes. By automating complex processes, the skills and costs required to perform a task are materially reduced. Dutch professor Emeritus and author, W.E. Bijker, noted “This trend is linked to the spread of knowledge of and ability to perform high-tech tasks, challenging previous conceptions of expertise.”[iii] Astra Taylor, author, is a little less sanguine arguing, “The promotion of Internet-enabled amateurism is a lazy substitute for real equality of opportunity.” [iv]
I think it’s safe to say our experience with democratization is mixed. While the internet, for example, has enabled many to access information and publish, it has also facilitated the spread of propaganda, conspiracy theories and hate.
Technology advances in photography have certainly democratized the creation of images. It removed many of the hurdles presented in making images, once the realm of the painter. Kodak’s first camera, marketed under the slogan “You Press the Button, We Do the Rest”[v] gave access to photography to the many. Digital cameras removed the challenges of film. Photoshop removed the challenges of editing, and it goes on.
Recent developments in artificial intelligence are further reducing the barriers to image creation: no camera is required, and technical skills are minimized. The artist simply provides some terms to the software, which then creates images. The skill now is in selecting the right terms and becoming sufficiently familiar with the technology to understand how it will react to selected terms.
The examples that follow offer a sense of what the text to image process does and how different terms can be used to guide the results. Keep in mind that the artist provides terms to the tool, which in turn generates an image.
The result is a literal representation of a church steeple, although in a somewhat painterly style.
Again, the result is a literal representation of a church steeple, with some characteristics of a German architectural style, in a somewhat painterly style.
The result is a less literal representation of a German church steeple, rendered in the style of painter Paul Klee.
Again, a less literal representation of a German church steeple, this time rendered in the style of painter Pablo Picasso.
In this example, I have asked the software to combine the styles of painters Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee for the image of a German Church Steeple.
In this example, I have asked the software to combine the styles of painters Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee and then simulate the mezzotint printing process to the result.
[i] Harper Douglas, “Etymology of democratization,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed October 10, 2022, https://www.etymonline.com/word/democratization.
[ii] Goldsmith, Steven. “The Readymades of Marcel Duchamp: The Ambiguities of an Aesthetic Revolution.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 42, no. 2 (1983): 197–208.
[iii] Biker, W.E. “Democratization of Technology-Who are the Experts? for Kolloquium “Expertenkultur und Demokratie”. 1995. Aachen: Thouet-Verlag.
[iv] Taylor, Astra. “The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age”. 2015. MacMillan.
[v] Wikipedia contributors, “You Press the Button, We Do the Rest,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You_Press_the_Button,_We_Do_the_Rest&oldid=1111798582 (accessed October 10, 2022).
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