Anya Cappon Blog 1:The Most Successful Intersection of Art and Science


The Intersection of art and AI 
Artificial Intelligence is a form of science that has been involved in artmaking longer than we think. The 1700s gave birth to an era of machines called automaton. These machines would perform functions of humans and animals for the enjoyment of the spectators. These machines were a pivotal point in the understanding of machinery and anatomy, but they were also responsible for a new era of entertainment. Today we see artificial intelligence in every aspect of our lives, but we do not necessarily think of AI when we walk into a contrary art gallery. Yes, it is common knowledge that technology has been both the assistant and the subject of art. However, what does it mean when an AI becomes the artist?
 Automata were created to perform; the tasks they most commonly performed were those of musicians and entertainers. Jacques de Vaucanson was an inventor in the 1700s because he was an inventor he was also an artist and a scientist. Vaucanson created some of the most technically advanced and human-like automata. Two of his most notable inventions were the flute player and the duck. The flute player was a machine that performed a human function in the same way that a human would. Vaucanson was fascinated with anatomy; his fascination led him to take apart and reconstruct the body. One of his most successful attempts in recreating the body was the lungs inside of the flute player. The machine was able to play 12 different songs by controlling air from its lungs with its tong and lips in order to blow air into the flute. In this way, the robot is no different from the flutist.
 Today we have AI and computer programs, not unlike automata. The only difference is that these programs are becoming artists by themselves; they are not performing as artists. AI is generating the artwork. In 2018 a painting generated by AI sold at Christe’s Auction House, NY for $432,500. The work, Portrait of Edmond de Belamy, was created using an algorithm, which is part of new technology used in order to produce images. The technology was by a London art collective, called Obvious. They refer to themselves as artists and researchers, but their goal is beyond the constructs of a gallery. They are focusing on technology that produces art without the instruction of humans. The automaton had limits they could only mimic human function, but the AI of today are learning human function. Obvius is just one of many groups exploring AI with the ability to learn. They are one of the firsts groups demonstrating that art no longer requires the human hand.
Producing an artificial being that mimics human function has turned into producing an artificial function that not only exceeds human function but determines human interest. In the same way that Vaucanson constructed, machines to produce music, scientists and researchers like the Obvious collective are creating machines to produces art. We do not understand the machine or AI as the art; we seem to understand the product of the technology as the art. It is clear to see how an automaton is art, but as we continue to see AI in the gallery, understanding what the art is and who the artist is becomes quite a conundrum.





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