Last week’s Colorado State Fair was the first time Jason Allen had ever competed in an arts competition. So, it was a surprise to the 39-year-old fantasy tabletop game creator that his creation, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” won a first-place blue ribbon in the “digital art/digitally manipulated photography” category.
What surprised even more people than just Allen was that he had created his work––a rendering of three lushly robed figures staring through a gleaming portal into another world––with the artificial intelligence tool Midjourney. For Allen, the win was an unexpected triumph, but for others it was the fuse that sparked a heated debate over AI’s potential uses––and misuses––in the arts.
Midjourney, DALL-E and other text-to-image tools are just one way that AI has been making its way into the creative process. Look no further than the brief—but controversial—existence of AI rapper FN Meka or a deepfake company’s appearance on “America’s Got Talent.”
Is AI a new piece of technology that will create the next big artistic movement? Or does it herald the destruction of the artist? It turns out the answer is not so simple.
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