Repetitive, structured, and monotonous are adjectives often associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Normally these tools are not linked with being creative, let alone with the creation of art. However, in recent years this perception has changed and, increasingly, artists are breaking barriers and using AI and teaching ML models to create art pieces, music, films, and more. For example, Refik Anadol (a Turkish-American artist) was inspired by the movie Blade Runner to create abstract and futuristic exhibitions and architectural pieces using data-driven ML algorithms. In the film industry, BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Oscar Scharp created Sunspring, an experiential science fiction short that was written entirely  by an AI model named “Jetson”, which was fed hundreds of sci-fi TV and movie scripts. Likewise, in the music industry, artists are using programs such as Amper and AIVA  to create hit songs and even a complete album using AI. These are just a few examples of different ways human artists have relied on AI tools to create their art, and how it has even helped unleash a “golden age” of creativity powered by AI.

Is AI creative?

The question remains if AI can be creative on its own (therefore replacing human creativity), or whether this characteristic ia solely reserved for humans? Arushi Kapoor, CEO and co-Founder of ARTSop art consulting and Arushi, expressed her opinion on the matter and insisted that, although technology and AI have proven to be powerful tools, they are not replacements for the essence of the art which is human creativity. Similarly Kelland Thomas, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and a Professor of music and technology at the Stevens Institute of Technology, agrees, stating that (for now) AI will continue to be used as a complement to human creativity, rather than as a replacement. Therefore the question shifts from who will replace who, to: how can AI and humans collaborate to create innovative masterpieces? 

Unleashing Human and AI Creativity

German AI-art pioneer, Mario Klingemann, has found AI to be a valuable collaborator and means to explore his creative side, despite his lack of skill in traditional techniques, such as painting and drawing. Music producer Lucas Cantor also turned to AI to accomplish the challenge of finishing Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ 8th Symphony. The mental health institute Over the Bridge leveraged AI to imagine what the well-known “27 Club” (including famous artists such as Kurt Cubain, Amy Winehouse and Jimi Hendrix, who died at the age of 27) could have created if they were still alive in the Lost Tapes of the 27 Club project. Through these examples we can see how AI is being used in the creative arts to not only create groundbreaking pieces, but also to try and rewrite the past and show us what could have been. There are still many unanswered questions concerning piracy, plagiarism, originality, and creativity around the use of AI to build and produce art, but there is no question that this innovative way of approaching the arts is a force to be reckoned with, that will continue to push boundaries across all creative industries. 

Join us in this Links We Like, as we explore AI’s creativity, and some of its applications in the creative arts sector, including tools you can use to explore your creativity with AI’s help. Resources are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic.