The art world continues to shake after seeing what artificial intelligence offers. Such technological advancements raise numerous questions as to whether AI is becoming a threat to humanity.
Should AI Art be Considered Art?
We can look at this story from two points of view: the AI creator and the artist’s eye!
Mixed-media artist and professor Matt Saunders, who also serves as the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University, views AI as a disruptor and an opportunity in the art world. Saunders believes every new technology, including AI, reshapes creative conventions, offering fresh possibilities while challenging existing norms.
Matt Saunders: “Many artists will be intrigued by the ‘agency’ of AI and will seek ways to grapple or collaborate with it... many already are".
Saunders emphasises that such disruptions are vital for growth, forcing artists to confront habits and assumptions.
Finding Meaning: The Power of the Artist
However, Saunders expresses concerns about the social and ethical implications of AI, suggesting that the role of artists may include helping society navigate these complexities.
Saunders remains ambivalent about AI’s creativity. “Art means what we ascribe to it,” he says, framing art as a dialogue shaped by human intention and interpretation. While AI has already inspired significant works, Saunders points out that the artist still brings meaning to the medium. Whether this dynamic could shift in the future remains an open question.
A Middle Ground
Saunders is optimistic about AI’s possibility to contribute to creative tasks such as creating art, provided we approach it with the right questions and intentions. “If we ask the right questions, AI will give us significant answers,” Saunders concludes.
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Optimism First: AI as a Helpful Tool
Other creatives judge AI as another tool in the artist’s ever-evolving toolkit.
While acknowledging the threat to artistic jobs, animator Ruth Stella Langford believes AI “could probably work very well” if guided by human vision throughout the process. Saunders goes further, saying “artists should be grateful to be challenged” by AI and that “art means what we ascribe to it.”
Ultimately, AI is a part of our everyday lives now. We should learn how to use it to our benefit; it is there to help us.
