The Work of Art in the Age of Computational Creativity ‒Can AI Be Considered as a Subject of Artistic Creations? 

Lee Jaepark 

Abstract

Computational creativity is emerging as a sub-field of computer science; it attempts to make machines the subjects of artistic creations. Therefore, we examine whether machines can be considered the subjects of artistic creations through experiments on audiences’ appreciation of works by artificial intelligence (AI) and humans. According to our qualitative and quantitative findings, audiences reported no significant differences in appreciating works by AI and humans. Thus, it seems inappropriate to declare that “AI cannot be the subject of an artistic creation.”Prior to asking, “Can machines create art?” it is necessary to ask “Isn’t a human a kind of machine?” It is contradictory if we deny that humans are machines, because they are also formed by evolution, a mechanical algorithm. If humans are a type of machine, and if they also make art, eventually, this will come to mean that machines create art. In conclusion, it is not natural to deny the hypothesis, “Machines can be the subjects of artistic creations.” 

keyword: Computational creativity, Turing test, Artificial intelligence, Deep learning, Arts