AI Art: tool or threat? Two experts give their two cents 

When we imagine the future through slews of sci-fi flicks and comics, it is almost always presented in some tour de force of dystopian potentials – the human race is beat by artificial intelligence, and new realities come out to play.

The future is now, and AI is here in the imminent present. While AI could relieve us from menial administrative tasks to focus on what we do best: innovate, reason and imagine, the threat to creative sectors by the rise of text prompt images is still being understood as things develop every day.

What do the experts think?

BusinessNow.mt spoke to two figures, Gege Gatt and Maria Galea, about the rise of AI and whether it really is a tool or threat to the very human notion of art. 

Gege Gatt is a tech entrepreneur and lawyer. Maria Galea, a cultural strategist and is the head of Malta’s biggest art lobby (MEIA). Both compare AI’s advent to the rise of photography in the 20th century, and the reactionary jolt in the art world at the time, because people thought it would put painters out of work, and that it wasn’t art because “anyone could do it”.

“AI-generated art and writing present a similar debate as that of photography, but with a crucial distinction: AI lacks consciousness. It does not create with intent, emotion, or lived experience: it generates outputs based on patterns, not personal meaning,” Mr Gatt says.

According to the tech entrepreneur, AI can replicate, but never produce, human art. Human art has consciousness, something that artificial intelligence doesn’t have. 

“What makes photography art is not the use of the mechanical or technical tool but the choices made in composition, framing, view-point and timing which are deeply creative acts which reflect the artist’s intention. AI does not have intention in that sense,” he explains.

“Creativity is not just about producing something new; it’s about expressing something unique to human existence.”

In that sense, he explains, AI does not threaten art; rather, it challenges us to redefine what we value in creativity. 

“If we see art as a series of choices, then AI is a collaborator: a tool that expands possibility. But if we see art as the transmission of human experience, then AI will never replace it, because it does not experience.”

Maria Galea also draws parallels to the reactions to photography a century ago.

“I find it interesting to consider the historical parallels to the advent of photography. When photography was first introduced, many criticised it as not being ‘true’ art because it was seen as less labour-intensive and more technical. The same could happen with AI. I see it as a tool primarily in the hands of creators, which can be a very powerful one indeed. 

“As for whether AI threatens art, I don’t believe it does. Art will always be rooted in the human experience, and AI, in this context, should be seen as a complement rather than a competitor. It’s about how we choose to use the technology. AI-generated works, like those seen in recent high-profile auctions such as Sotheby’s, are certainly sparking new conversations about the value of art, the role of technology in creativity, and how we perceive art in the digital age. But ultimately, human creativity remains at the heart of it all.”

The debate about what makes something art echoes historical debates about what constitutes creativity and authorship. 

“Who owns a piece of art created with the assistance of AI? These are important conversations that need to happen, and it is essential for the arts community to be at the forefront of shaping these discussions,” she explains.

The emergence of AI-image generators, such as DALL-E 2, Discord, Midjourney, which generate images through text prompts, have been trained to scrape millions of images off the internet without the permission of the artists.

In Malta, Ms Galea adds, the issue of AI art is that public authorities are already opting for less human options instead of commissioning humans.

“Locally, one pressing issue that has been raised is the growing use of AI by Government entities and corporations to create visuals, design marketing materials, or even generate commercial content,” she says.

“This is already having a tangible impact on sectors like photography, design, and modelling, with many stakeholders potentially being replaced in more commercial work by AI-generated imagery. While AI may offer efficiency and cost savings for certain industries, it also raises concerns about the livelihoods of artists and creatives who depend on their commercial income. This is a tricky issue to navigate, as we must balance innovation with the protection of jobs and the integrity of creative work.”

Ms Galea continues: “Regarding lobbying for artists in Malta and beyond, the rise of AI in the arts presents both challenges and opportunities. 

There is a fine balance to be had with AI tools, and the Malta Arts Lobby (MEIA)’s role is to ensure artists work is protected.

“On the one hand, we need to advocate for policies that ensure fair compensation for artists whose work may be used in AI-generated projects, as well as establish clear rules around intellectual property and attribution. On the other hand, AI also opens up new avenues for creative expression, and we should be supporting artists in exploring these new tools and incorporating them into their practice. MEIA’s role in this will be to ensure that artists’ voices are heard in the creation of policies and frameworks that address the intersection of AI and the arts, fostering an environment where both human creativity and technology can thrive together.

“Ultimately, I believe AI is not something of the future, it is already very present in our lives and it is vital that we approach this technology with an eye toward collaboration and fairness, ensuring that artists’ rights and creative freedom are protected as we move forward.

“All in all, consciousness is a subjective, human faculty that belongs to humans.”

Mr Gatt finishes off: “Consciousness has subjective, first-person causal powers and consciousness is not inherently computational the way computer programs are. The human mind has a number of intrinsic characteristics, such as subjectivity, intentionality, teleology and rationality, which a computer can only simulate. Subsequently machines do not have access to the metaphysical nature of reality. Mirroring reason is not the same as reasoning. And reasoning is not the same thing as consciousness.”