Renaissance 2.0: Art in the Age of AI

The latest innovation altering the landscape of visual arts is that of generative AI art programs such as DALL-E and Midjourney. With the deep proliferation of AI in all aspects of life, creative industries have not been left behind. But naturally, when machines start mimicking intrinsically human qualities, a social, ethical, and cultural dilemma is born. Amongst the many negative effects of AI art, forgery, theft, job losses, and the devaluation of human labour are the most cited. Art and artists have not only survived but also thrived under the previous waves of automation. But as long as AI learns by replication instead of creation, it will stay a subject of debate among the art and science community alike. Navigating the subtleties behind the integration of AI art in society is crucial for understanding the reasons behind the acceptance/rejection of this new technology. This thesis aimed to find out what artists - the people most affected by generative AI art - think about this phenomenon. It was found that artists have a rather negative outlook towards AI art, even more so than general AI technologies. This outlook is an amalgamation of effects from an assortment of factors. Some of them were types of creativity, technological affinity/adoption, professional status, and previous experiences with AI technology. Creativity and technological adoption are well-researched fields with many definitions, theories, and frameworks developed to understand them. The very existence of generative AI art challenges these definitions. But simultaneously, it fits into or can be seen as an extension of some of these well-established adoption frameworks. It was also found that artists’ opinions directly translate into actual use and adoption of generative AI technologies in their daily lives and work. This means that the artists' resistance towards AI could significantly influence the future development and integration of such technologies within the art industry. Moreover, the results suggest that focusing on improving AI's creative capacities in ways that complement rather than compete with human creativity might reduce some of the negative perceptions. A focus on co-creativity and further research into the connection between AI adoption and personality traits will be worthwhile.