Art and the science of generative AI: A deeper dive
This work addresses the interdisciplinary implications of generative AI for creators, policymakers, and society, focusing on aesthetics, law, work, and media ecosystems, but it is incremental as it synthesizes existing themes without introducing new methods or data.
The paper examines how generative AI tools, which produce high-quality artistic media across various domains, are likely to fundamentally alter creative processes and impact multiple sectors of society, arguing that it represents a new medium with distinct affordances rather than a threat to art.
A new class of tools, colloquially called generative AI, can produce high-quality artistic media for visual arts, concept art, music, fiction, literature, video, and animation. The generative capabilities of these tools are likely to fundamentally alter the creative processes by which creators formulate ideas and put them into production. As creativity is reimagined, so too may be many sectors of society. Understanding the impact of generative AI - and making policy decisions around it - requires new interdisciplinary scientific inquiry into culture, economics, law, algorithms, and the interaction of technology and creativity. We argue that generative AI is not the harbinger of art's demise, but rather is a new medium with its own distinct affordances. In this vein, we consider the impacts of this new medium on creators across four themes: aesthetics and culture, legal questions of ownership and credit, the future of creative work, and impacts on the contemporary media ecosystem. Across these themes, we highlight key research questions and directions to inform policy and beneficial uses of the technology.