Curatorial Statement

Thinking about the environment around creating art in the 21st century, the Artificial Gaze seminar seeks to expand upon questions such as: how does A.I. change the art scene? How does A.I. art affects visual and written language? How can the ethics of authorship be maintained when training generative art machines?

These questions relate to fundamental concepts of how we understand art. The relationship between audience and work is slowly being affected by artificial generative art, with ramifications in the art world that are still in development. Within this context, the importance of exchanges and conversations on the subject becomes even more important than before. By discussing and elaborating on issues surrounding the use of A.I., a critical eye is cast on the world in which we live.

Questions proposed at the beginning of computer sciences, such as Alan Turing's ‘can machines think?’ have become dated with the advent of A.I. machines capable of learning, conversing, responding, generating images never seen before, and even offering psychological support, since these actions could be considered a form of thought. Perhaps the most interesting question around the topic was posed in the title of Philip K. Dick's science fiction book ‘Do androids dream of electric sheep?’. This question seeks to understand whether machines will be able to think beyond reason, since despite some disputes and problems in distinguishing between the two activities, there is a difference between thinking and imitating the act of thinking, a difference that Turing himself admits, despite defending imitation in his texts.

However, does this artificial thinking, understanding that an A.I. thinks for itself, resembles that of humans? If so, what would that mean for us, is all cognition and consciousness predetermined? And what about questions of the unconscious, since they act through the circuits of a machine, does it have that capacity? And if it doesn't and we use it more and more, are we getting closer to the way the A.I. thinks?

Artificial Intelligence in the arts raises a fundamental question regarding the role of the creator, as the automation of the creative process and the distancing of the artist from the making of the work asks what is left for us beyond the writing of the prompt. The role of authorship is intrinsically related to art and subjectivity, however, when artificial intelligence emerges and becomes an intermediary between artist and work, the problem arises of knowing at what point the work ceases to belong to the artist and becomes A.I. If the work of art becomes A.I., this indicates a possible new and more intense automation of an industry and market, which are linked to the way we define humanity, consciousness and subjectivity.

When discussing the creation of A.I. art, it's also important to think about how the prevalence of generative artworks affects the aesthetic formation of the public and eventually the patterns and conceptions of what is beautiful or pleasing. With A.I. art becoming more present in commercially appealing works, it's worth asking and evaluating its aesthetic and mediatic impact on us. Another point of discussion is how to think about and use A.I., considering how they process and generate content. A.I. have become a kind of information curator, but the user does not have access to the curatorial criteria. In addition, there is also the issue of image rights and how there are cases of infringements of these rights by A.I. These problems are becoming increasingly frequent and the subject of widespread debate on intellectual property and copyright.

Using these questions as a starting point, this seminar seeks to promote discussions about the effect of A.I. on artistic fields and the logic around modern creativity. The goal is that, through exchanges and talks, the public acquires a new perspective on the subject, taking into account the multiplicity of opinions and ramifications that this new type of technology brings with it.