The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Generation
This addresses the problem of defining and achieving creativity in AI for art and society, but it is incremental as it builds on existing forgery detection and social analysis.
The paper explores whether AI can achieve human-like creativity by examining its ability to detect forgeries of renowned paintings, concluding that evolving technical capabilities may reshape traditional relationships among art, artist, and the market.
Can we define what it means to be "creative," and if so, can our definition drive artificial intelligence (AI) systems to feats of creativity indistinguishable from human efforts? This mixed question is considered from technological and social perspectives. Beginning with an exploration of the value we attach to authenticity in works of art, the article considers the ability of AI to detect forgeries of renowned paintings and, in so doing, somehow reveal the quiddity of a work of art. We conclude by considering whether evolving technical capability can revise traditional relationships among art, artist, and the market.