Class Year

2024

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Spring 2024

Department 1

Philosophy

Abstract

The last few years have seen the emergence of ‘artificially intelligent’ systems en masse, which perform tasks which had previously only been possible by human intelligence. Arguably, the impact of ‘AI 2.0’ has been felt most prominently in the art world — artists have panicked as DALL-E, Midjourney, and other image generation algorithms manufacture pieces which previously required weeks of painstaking labor to create. This project seeks to develop a more critical framework for this novel mode of artistic creation and propose better ways of thinking about, using, and “becoming with” artificial intelligence in the domain of artistry. The first chapter delves into American philosopher John Dewey’s theory of aesthetics with a close reading of Art as Experience. The second chapter examines critiques and contemporary challenges of Dewey’s aesthetics, with particularly close attention paid to the dynamics of communication, intentionality of artists, and expression. The third chapter examines the concept of artistic AI, draws from post-humanist aesthetics to pose a decentered and relational framework of AI expression, and synthesizes these perspectives with a Deweyan lens. The final chapter advocates for ‘tactical’ deployments of AI art, and questions what truths and perceptions might be communicated when we create in tandem with machine intelligence.

Comments

Written for PHIL 466: Senior Thesis in Philosophy

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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