Some months ago, nobody was talking about artificial intelligence, but now things are different. Many magazines have designated 2023 as the year of artificial intelligence. Anyway, the challenges we are witnessing today with the introduction of artificial intelligence are not very different from what we saw several years ago with the advent of the Internet and computers, and other devices. Artificial intelligence is being used to perform various tasks that can undoubtedly bring great benefits to different fields. However, this intriguing technology still has limitations when it comes to its capacity. Artificial intelligence still lacks the competence that some human beings possess to understand and reflect the meaning and cultural context of their creations or productions. Humans can think abstractly and find innovative solutions that go beyond the limits of available data.
This was part of my presentation at the 24th Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association which took place at Fordham University, in New York City.
An AI language model can assist in the artistic field in several ways. Here are some things an AI model can do (OpenAI, 2023):
- Generate poetry and song lyrics: AI can compose poems in different styles and themes, as well as assist in writing song lyrics.
- Aid in creative writing: AI can provide ideas, suggestions, and help develop plots, characters, and dialogues for plays, novels, short stories, scripts, and more.
- Create visual descriptions: AI can help paint detailed and vivid mental images by describing landscapes, scenes, or any other visual elements.
- Design artistic or band names: If you need a creative stage name for yourself or your band, AI can assist in generating original and appealing ideas.
- Provide artistic information and knowledge: AI can answer questions related to artists, artistic movements, styles, famous artworks, music, and more.
AI, like any other technology, enters the world as a toy that amazes and fascinates everyone. Initially, not many people are interested in the substance of the technology. Just a few can understand how this new technology could transform the environment. People simply use it without questioning its potential repercussions (Levinson, 1977).
Machines or models have been programmed to behave ethically, but there are still flaws. Many risks have been identified regarding ethical dilemmas (Lawton & Wigmore, 2023). Even experts in the field predict that in 2023 we could have the first death attributed to a chatbot.
Most of the AI emotional models are based on pseudoscience or imperfect science (Romero, 2022).
Algorithms can recognize a person crying, but they can hardly determine the reason or cause (Purdy et al., 2019) For example, furrowing the brow does not always imply anger, but that may be the conclusion an algorithm arrives at.
Our emotions are not a reflection of our internal states. An AI that makes assumptions about emotional states could exacerbate racial or gender inequities (Agarwal, 2022)
There is no regulation regarding the use of AI models and devices (Candelon et al., 2021).
Can we compete with AI?
Art is a manifestation or expression of any creative and aesthetic activity by human beings (Lind, 1993). Art is a narrative construction based on emotions, feelings, and perceptions about the human being’s environment, experiences, or what they imagine about reality, with aesthetic and/or symbolic purposes.
AI will be able to generate its own artistic narrative based on patterns and statistical models (Manovich, 2018), and ultimately compete with human beings, with certain advantages but also disadvantages.
In the end, it will all come down to whether you prefer the composition of a particular AI or the creation of the next Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven.
Undoubtedly, artificial intelligence has many advantages, but we must not forget about the disadvantages, dangers, and costs that we will have to bear for the use of this technology, and I’m not necessarily referring to the economic cost.
Those who truly understand the true value of this technology will be the ones who benefit. We must know more about its capabilities, but also its limitations. For this reason, we must study more about the structure and functioning of artificial intelligence.
Fast and simple… Artificial intelligence aims to replicate certain cognitive functions and improve the efficiency and accuracy of various tasks.
Technology changes our lives (for better or for worse).
Marshall McLuhan used to say: We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.
Once we embrace a technology, once we give it permission to come into our homes, our offices, we never let it go. We think there can’t be anything better or different. We must remember that every technology has a life cycle. It is very likely that artificial intelligence will evolve into something we can’t currently imagine.
Technology is not limited only to physical devices and tools, but also encompasses systems, structures, and forms of thought that develop in response to technological innovation. AI focuses on the creation of algorithms and programs that enable machines to process information, learn from it, make decisions, solve problems, and perform tasks in a manner similar to that of a human being. AI, like any other technology, is a social and cultural phenomenon that influences how we perceive the world, communicate, interact, and construct knowledge.
Artificial intelligence, like any technology, should be considered as a valuable ally that can contribute significantly to simplifying multiple tasks for the benefit of humanity. It should serve humans, and not the other way around.
Let me close my presentation with this idea from the Canadian philosopher and media scholar, Marshall McLuhan:
“If we understand the revolutionary transformations caused by new technologies, we can anticipate and control them, but if we continue in our subliminal trance, we will always be slaves to technological effects” (McLuhan en Norden, 1969).
References
Agarwal, P. (2022, December 31). Emotional AI Is No Substitute for Empathy. Wired UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/empathy-artificial-intelligence
Candelon, F., di Carlo, R. C., De Bondt, M., & Evgeniou, T. (2021). AI Regulation Is Coming: How to prepare for the inevitable. Harvard Business Review, 99(5).
Lawton, G., & Wigmore, I. (2023, January). What are AI Ethics (AI Code of Ethics)? WhatIs.com. https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/AI-code-of-ethics
Lind, Richard (1993). The case for micro-phenomenology. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 51 (4):622-625.
Levinson, P. (1977). Toy, mirror, and art: The metamorphosis of technological culture. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 151-167.
Manovich, L. (2018). AI aesthetics. Moscow: Strelka Press.
Norden, E. (1969). The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan. Playboy Magazine, 26, 45-55.
OpenAI, (2023). some things an AI model can do in the artistic domain. ChatGPT (versión 14 de marzo) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat.
Purdy, M., Zealley, J., & Maseli, O. (2019, November 18). The Risks of Using AI to Interpret Human Emotions. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-risks-of-using-ai-to-interpret-human-emotions
Romero, A. (2022, July 12). AI Emotion Recognition Is a Pseudoscientific Multi-Billion Dollar Industry. The Algorithmic Bridge. https://thealgorithmicbridge.substack.com/p/ai-emotion-recognition-is-a-pseudoscientific