Believe it or not, Artificial Intelligence or AI has become a key part of our lives. From drafting an email to driving a vehicle, it has started to impact our lives in a very real sense. What’s more, is that it’s making a mark in the world of artists. A recent proof was when an AI art piece called “Portrait of Edmond Belamy” was auctioned for $432,500.
So, can AI replace artists? We try to figure it
out.
Over the last 50 years, many artists have
written computer programs that can help generate art. In this process, a person
writes detailed code and has a visual outcome in mind. Now, AI and machine learning
technologies are used, and computers are getting more autonomy in producing
images.
For creating AI art, artists write algorithms
that don’t follow a set of rules. Instead, to “learn” a specific aesthetic that
is done by analyzing thousands of images. After that, the algorithm tries to
generate new images that adhere to the aesthetics it has learned. Most of the
AI artworks that have been created in the last few years have used GANs or
generative adversarial networks that are a class of algorithms. There are two
sides to them. The first generates random images while the other judges the
images and decides which aligns best with the input.
What’s AICAN?
One of the programs that can create art is
AICAN, Artificial intelligence creative adversarial network. It could be
assumed as a nearly autonomous artist. It has learned existing styles and
aesthetics, and hence it can easily generate innovative images of its own.
People like the work produced by AICAN and often fail to tell the difference
between an art generated by AICAN and a human artist. About 75% of the time,
people couldn’t tell the difference. They genuinely enjoyed the art generated
by Ai and sued words like inspiring or having a visual structure or even
communicative when they were asked to describe AICAN’s work.
Since October 2017, AICAN’s work has been
exhibited at Frankfurt, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City venues. A
separate set of images were used for each show. At each of the shows, people
were curious to know who the artist was.
The Limitations of AI
Though AI has progressed a lot, something is
missing in it. The algorithms might create compelling images, but it lives in
an isolated creative space that doesn’t have a social context. In contrast,
human artists are inspired by people, politics, and places. Their art tells
stories and makes sense of the world we live in.
All in all, it can be said that no, machine
learning and AI cannot replace artists. They can be useful tools for real
artists that can help them excel at what they do best. Human artists should
embrace this technology to create masterpieces that all art lovers might enjoy
one day.
Read about the top AI companies in Canada here.
Know the top innovations of AI in 2021 here.
by Shruti , CNS Canadian News Source
Source:
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/ai-is-blurring-the-definition-of-artist