AI-Kunstwerk „Girl with Glowing earrings” von Julian van Dieken

photo: @julian_ai_art / Midjourney

AI and culture

The cultural sector is also facing major challenges and complex questions in relation to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Firstly, there is the creative process: will we still be able to distinguish in future which works of art are of human origin and which have been generated by AI? What is still “authentic”? To what extent are works of art created by AI protected by copyright? Artistic work thrives on ideas and feelings, on uniqueness and the human will to express. How will these categories change? Or will AI become a new artistic tool, like intaglio printing or the photo lens? Will creative skills be lost in the long term due to automated creativity?

At the same time, however, new forms of creativity are also emerging. Artists can utilise completely new design processes to create unique works of art. And we are faced with the question of whether this diminishes the appreciation of human artistic work. How will we define “artistic quality” in the future? Will there be a “dehumanisation” of the concept of art? Or will creative AI applications encourage the general public to be creative in the spirit of the Romantic poet Novalis: “Everyone should be an artist”?

Participation, appropriation and mediation is another field for the use of AI. New exhibition presentations are conceivable with AI, which also appeal to new target groups. The ability of AI apps to structure and translate complex content today, to output it in real time in a wide range of languages or, for example, to convey art in dialogue form, opens up a huge new repertoire of opportunities for the entire field of education and mediation. It may also be possible to introduce people who reject or are suspicious of AI to the unstoppable development of artificial intelligence.

However, researchers still agree on one thing: the direct human encounter in an exhibition, the communal experience of a concert or the experience of going to the theatre can hardly be simulated by machines.

We cordially invite you to join us on this journey through the world of artificial intelligence in art and culture in events, podcasts and other activities.