We’ve all heard of the multi-million dollar works which sell at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions. What if you were to find out that an AI-generated artwork sold at Christie’s for$432,500? Brings new meaning to stealing like an artist…

In a recent study published by the Empirical Studies in the Arts, it was discovered that most people can’t actually tell the difference between art made by a human and art generated by artificial intelligence. What’s more concerning, is what this data tells us about how our society perceives art. After all, art is supposed to represent one of the last, pure markers of being truly human, something that can’t be taken away from us… right? Though we would like to believe that to be true, in reality it appears that art isn’t the pinnacle of the human condition after all. It begs the question, if no soul is put into the work, can other humans still be moved by a piece of art? We’ll save the question of whether artificial intelligence can develop a soul for another time.

Experts to differentiate between man- and machine-made works

Gangadharbatla, a professor of advertising at the University of Colorado, Boulder, set up an online survey which asked people to distinguish between landscapes made by humans and those generated by artificial intelligence. Though this study isn’t exactly the first of its kind—those asking experts to differentiate between man- and machine-made works have existed prior, this is the first of its kind to consider the opinions of everyday people. Of the 211 subjects who participated in the survey, roughly 75%-85% of respondents guessed 4 out of 5 artworks incorrectly. In most cases, the only work they correctly attributed to AI was the abstract piece—not incredibly surprising. At this stage, artificial intelligence-generated art is more interesting than alarming—after all we know the methods behind the artworks. What becomes worrisome is to consider a future where AI-generated art transforms into a kind of advertising, in which subliminal messaging is incorporated in order to influence our opinions without our consent. Given recent developments, this might not be too far off of a reality. Though the future of art remains unclear, what is certain is that the battle between man and machine is in full force. Only time will tell who the real winner will be.

Read the full article here.

Talk to us: Do you think you would be able to tell the difference between art made by a human and art made by AI? Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear from you!

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