Is artificial intelligence a potent new tool for creativity or a threat? A new exhibition at a San Francisco gallery called "Artificial Imagination" poses the question. It features eight artists' works produced using A.I. image generators. Hence, a new form of art is being created. Some artists simply fed an A.I. tool with phrases to generate their entire piece. Others made sculptures or illustrations using the tool's suggestions.

AI and Its Invasion of Creativity

Artificial intelligence is quickly permeating creative spaces — and generating many questions as it does so — from robots that make their own art to image-generation tools that mimic the work of history's greatest artisans. Is it a tool, a method, a medium, or perhaps something else?

If an artist didn't come up with the technology used to create their work, do they still fully own it? These discussions couldn't come at a better time because the level of artificial intelligence art is rapidly improving.

Will AI Images Become More Popular?

According to Scott Rosenberg, machine-learning programs that can produce sometimes jaw-dropping images from brief text prompts have advanced in a matter of months from a stage where "that's quite a trick" was used to describe them, to a stage where "a genuine cultural disruption" is being caused by them.

Bitforms’ website states the organization's primary focus is on "artists critically engaged with new technologies." The gallery's goal for this show is to start a conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool that has the potential to alter, enhance, and extend creative processes." In simpler terms, should AI-generated art be considered such?

How AI Creates Its Art

The DALL-E 2 image generator, which proved to be quite popular among the artists participating in this exhibition, is already very easy to use. The user enters a phrase into the tool, such as "a group of teddy bears in ancient Egypt, as a crayon drawing," and the tool generates images based on the input. While some artists whose art was on display were forthcoming about the phrases they used to create their pieces, others displayed a greater degree of reserve.

According to SF Gate, the artist Alexander Reben, who has two sculptures and a digital painting on display in the exhibition, refused to reveal his prompt language, referring to it as his "secret sauce." However, he did divulge the information that was provided to him by the AI tool, which was the instructions for creating his sculptures. The entirety of the instruction is written down and posted next to his work.