Rhian Williams ’25
In 2022, a man named Jason Allen rocked the art world when his AI-generated piece won first prize at the Colorado State Fair. The piece was beautiful, but was it art?
Art expresses one’s deepest emotions, wants, and fears. It’s been a part of human culture for thousands of years, going from crude depictions of buffalo on cave walls to detailed, specific scenes in the classroom of a ballet school.
Consider everything that art encapsulates. Does a robot have the capacity to express these things sincerely? Does a robot have the capacity to express things at all?
I believe that AI art can be considered a type of art, but it is very different from art created solely by humans with their hands. AI art can be entered in competitions, but it should be clearly labeled and placed in its own category.
Many other artists were outraged by this piece. Digital artist RJ Palmer protested that AI art is “actively anti-artist;” nonetheless, the question of AI art is not as simple as people seem to think.
Back on our side of the country, St. Andrew’s students expressed their own opinions. “I think it can be a good tool, but I also think it can be pretty crappy,” said Senior Piper Coco. “It’s pretty unimaginative, even though it tries to be.”
She said how artificial it looks and how the aesthetics that the human eye looks for in colors and shapes are not there.
She does think there are some positives, however. For example, someone can use words to make art instead of paint if art isn’t their strong suit. “You can imagine what you wish you could draw and make that,” said Coco.
On the other hand, Senior Finn McManus believes that AI is a “great tool and should be used more often and freely.” He said, “[People] should be able to experience the unimaginable.”
Visual Arts teacher Tanya Kapanzhi believes that with a good balance, AI can be a very good tool for the arts.
“I like to incorporate it into my work because I have foundational understanding,” she said, “Where I realize you cannot create anything without that research information and knowledge of what you are doing.”
Kapanzhi also said that people always think of AI as ChatGPT, Lightroom, or other software relating to art, but not as things we live with all the time: our phones.
“People seem to only blame AI when it comes to art, but they can’t be fully against it since they use it every day with their phones.” She said, “You don’t have to read a map like I did when driving; you can just type it or even say it into your GPS, and it’ll take you there.”
These days, our world is filled to the brim with artificial intelligence, yet it only becomes a problem in certain regards. AI art can be a beneficial tool to artists, but it depends on whether they use it for harm or good.