A Very Rough Draft of Argumentative Essay

 Over the recent years, Artificial Intelligence has become a major factor in our daily lives. From Apple’s “Siri” and Amazon’s “Alexa” all the way to ChatGPT, some humans have become reliant on AI’s undeniable knowledge. In the world of artistry, AI has been put to the true test of its power. While AI is well versed in imitating stylistic techniques, its art lacks the level of emotion and expression that comes from that of human artists. Some however, believe that AI art is just as moving as human art and that the level of intelligence neutralizes emotion. 

AI has advanced to producing many forms of art such as videos, scripts, poems, paintings, and compositions. But, do these creations evoke the same emotion as those created by living artists? I don’t believe so. Art thrives because of the human experiences and feelings used to create it. “Relationships and connections are essential aspects of the laws of creativity”. In the article “Arguments for the rise of AI art”, it is argued that AI can be used as a tool for creating art. While my original aim was that AI and art should never cross paths, I believe this point to be true. AI systems like CNN (convolutional neural networks) and GAN (generative adversarial networks) work together in the creation of AI art to recognize patterns within a piece (CNN) and generate an image that is realistic and true to the patterns found (GAN). GAN is the AI system used to create things such as deep fakes and audios seen on social media that mimic that of celebrities. These systems could be used as a partner in the art world to further the creative thought process of artists. “A Study on the Influence of AI on Image Art”, an article by Jin He, furthers this point. Jin argued that “Automatic image editing tools can help designers improve and repair images”. AI can be used to edit works faster than doing it alone. Jin also recognizes emotional analysis as an important tool.. Tools such as these are beneficial to the art community, speeding up the editing process while also finding the connection between the art, artist, and audience. It’s tools such as these that prove AI as a beneficial teammate in the art world. 

Using GAN and CNN as a partner in the creative process would appear as having CNN recognize the pattern of an artwork that inspired your piece and using those patterns to create your own take on the piece. Or, you could even go as far as to having GAN create a piece mimicking those patterns and creating your own spin on that piece. I see no issue in a creative process that uses AI, we are in the age of AI. However, art created solely by AI is something I refuse to support. Artificial Intelligence is just as the name states, artificial. Art is something that comes directly from heart and soul. Without heart and soul put into a piece, it is soulless. When looking at thought provoking art, it is clear where the artist wanted to take the piece and how they were feeling creating it. Other forms of art pertain to this as well, poems especially. When composing a poem about loss or the discovery of something, this comes from your personal experience, AI lacks in experience of life. This lack of experience is what causes a barrier between real and artificial art. 

It is argued that intelligence neutralizes emotion, this is false. We see this with humans, the smartest man in the world would be nothing without love and care. Emotion is not always logical, it isn’t an algorithm. Take actors for example, it’s well known that they channel their own experiences when filming an emotional scene. It is experience that produces true art. Once AI is able to experience heartbreak, maybe then we'll talk. But, to believe AI generated art is just as meaningful as art created by humans is downright offensive. Artists who put their sweat, tears, and soul into their pieces do not deserve to be replaced by a computer.

In the article “ART in the age of AI”, Doherty states that AI art lacks an “ephemeral essence”. Meaning that the essence of true art is permanent. This is even proven in the way AI produces art, the “patterns” it recognizes are from real-human pieces. AICAN has created works that have been presented internationally, with Ahmed Elgammal—its creator— insisting AICAN is the only credited name on the displays. While I argue that AI art lacks, AICAN’s pieces are nice. However, my argument isn’t that AI art is ugly, it’s that AI art has no emotion. This shows in AICAN’s works as well, while its piece “Link Between Heaven and Earth” (2017) exhibits beautiful colors, I remain unmoved. I believe AICAN to be talented and this talent could be beneficial as a collaborative partner to true artists. Once paired with a human, AI’s lack of experience and emotion is no longer an issue and the art begins to find the balance of logic and emotion. AI was created to be a partner to humans, anything more than a partner is where things get complicated and the world starts to fear the “Rise of AI”. In the age of AI, it is easy to fall into letting AI do all the work, this is a disservice that shows even in the world of art. We must do the work ourselves, it is the experience that produces meaningful art.