Can Computers Create Art?†
Adobe Research, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
†
This essay expresses my own opinions and not those of my employer.
Arts 2018, 7(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts7020018
Received: 4 February 2018 / Revised: 5 May 2018 / Accepted: 7 May 2018 / Published: 10 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Machine as Artist (for the 21st Century))
This essay discusses whether computers, using Artificial Intelligence (AI), could create art. First, the history of technologies that automated aspects of art is surveyed, including photography and animation. In each case, there were initial fears and denial of the technology, followed by a blossoming of new creative and professional opportunities for artists. The current hype and reality of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for art making is then discussed, together with predictions about how AI tools will be used. It is then speculated about whether it could ever happen that AI systems could be credited with authorship of artwork. It is theorized that art is something created by social agents, and so computers cannot be credited with authorship of art in our current understanding. A few ways that this could change are also hypothesized.
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Keywords:
art and technology; artificial intelligence; photography; painting; computer animation; image stylization
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hertzmann, A. Can Computers Create Art? Arts 2018, 7, 18.
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