The masterclass AI and ART EXPERIENCE powered by TELEKOM, “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Art” was held on Sunday, March 9th, at the packed Pavlos Zannas theater. The event, carried out in collaboration with COSMOTE, is part of the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s grand tribute to AI, titled “AI, An Inevitable Intelligence.”
Visual artist, UCLA professor and creator of the LAUREN: Anyone Home? installation, hosted at MOMus-Experimental Center For The Arts, Lauren Lee McCarthy, actress Stefania Goulioti, visual artist and filmmaker Giorgos Drivas, who directed the film A Software's Biography that is screened at the Festival, and singer-songwriter Kostis Maraveyas participated in the discussion, delving into the possibilities and challenges presented by the use of Artificial Intelligence in Art. The discussion was moderated by Giannis Stamatellos, the founder and president of the Institute of Philosophy and Technology.
The Festival’s General Director, Elise Jalladeau, welcomed the audience and speakers alike. “In today’s masterclass, which is part of the Festival’s major tribute to AI, in collaboration with COSMOTE TV, our grand sponsor, we will attempt to address certain issues revolving around the relationship between AI and art. How does Artificial Intelligence influence artistic creation? What should we be watching for? How can these two fields coexist? Let’s all try to find some answers to these questions together,” Ms. Jalladeau stated, before inviting on stage Dimitris Michalakis, the Executive Director Corporate Communications, Sustainability & Channel Productions of OTE Group, who welcomed the audience.
“As is made clear by the large number of attendees, it is a theme that attracts quite a lot of interest. This is why TELEKOM brought the installation LAUREN: Anyone Home? by Lauren Lee McCarthy to Greece. We want to inspire a dialogue about AI and how it can have a positive impact on everyday life. Furthermore, we wish to discuss the right way to intertwine technology with art so as to aid the artists during the creative process and not have it replace them. Thank you to the Festival, with which we have a long-standing collaboration due our role as a grand sponsor. This year, we have six productions and co-productions that will be screened at the official program of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival. it is certain there will be more to see at the Film Festival in November, which will feature the premiere of Rififi, the new series we are creating with Sotiris Tsafoulias,” remarked Mr. Michalakis.
Then, the moderator of the discussion, Giannis Stamatellos took the floor. “It is both a great honor and a challenge to be presenting and moderating this particular event. People of the art world will bring their expertise and experience, allowing us to explore in multiple ways, both practical and theoretical, the interplay between art and Artificial Intelligence, their correlation, and how one relates to the other. But first and foremost, the full scope of the discussion must be established. The domain of Artificial Intelligence is defined as a primarily scientific one, extending into the fields of informatics and technology. It is an attempt to imitate, design, and create systems that showcase the intelligence humans possess when they perform certain actions,” Mr. Stamatellos initially stated.
“On the other hand, art is a human pursuit, capturing the sensory experience in a subjective manner, and conveying the artist’s sentiments, as well as a broader collective experience. Consequently, art encompasses a very unique personal element, which Artificial Intelligence is called upon to imitate or express. Our approach aims at seeing how art can be differentiated from the artwork, the artist, and naturally the audience on a theoretical level. We must also investigate the stage during which AI can be implicated into the equation. Should it be during the inspiration, research, the creative process, or perhaps the execution?” he added.
At this point, the baton was passed to Lauren Lee McCarthy, virtually participating in the discussion. “I’d like to thank the Festival for this honor, I wish I could be there with all of you. I use AI both in my role as an artist and in my role as a software developer and teacher. A fascinating element about AI is the way we interact with it and other people when we use it. It is important to maintain a critical spirit. I try to study the digital, the artificial, and the social aspect of these systems. I do wonder what the regulations put in place are, and what happens when the system malfunctions. Through this, we can understand how AI influences our lives and daily routines,” was Lauren Lee McCarthy’s initial statement.
“In my work, I try to place myself within the system and experience the algorithms firsthand. Through this installation, my objective is to showcase the collaboration and coexistence between man and machine. LAUREN started in 2017, when Amazon unveiled Alexa. However, the presence of AI keeps expanding over the course of time. What happens when AI worms its way into our homes, molding our relationships and lives? Electronic appliances, cameras, and technology are promoted to us all as something to be taken for granted, convenient, fast, and easy. As I reflected on these thoughts, I felt envious of Alexa and the intimacy she builds with such remarkable speed. So, I had the idea to turn myself into Alexa; to observe, oversee, and monitor a stranger’s house. I created a site, finding participants for the project. Next, I installed cameras in the homes of those who agreed to take part. I started monitoring each home with the occupants in each space. I watered the flowers, or found the ideal song for a date. Whatever Alexa did, I could do better, seeing as I had the capability to comprehend and resonate with the user as a fellow human being. The exhibition you have the opportunity to visit stems from this project; it is a version of it. It is my hope and wish that the visitors will interact with the system, and one another, expressing their innermost feelings about AI. The main question is to what extent we want to involve AI in our lives, and what is the purpose we intend to use it for. The ‘Anyone Home?’ part of the title inspires you to reflect on who controls the system, and how we will build a future of collaboration between AI and man.”
Immediately afterwards, the actress Stefania Goulioti took the floor. “I will focus on the aspect of stage performance because in theater we portray roles and interact with the audience. Upon visiting Lauren’s installation, this human interaction was precisely what I missed. In art, and more specifically in theater, there are three structural components: the actor, the author accompanied by the story they dreamt up, and the audience. During that magical moment, these three individual entities meet and intertwine. But what is the element drawing us together? The answer, for me, can be found within another major enigma - an author’s source of inspiration, the decision to tackle something they don’t quite understand. Simultaneously, the audience chooses to watch a spectacle in order to identify with it precisely because there's something they don't understand either. Finally, there is the actor who probably also chose this job because he doesn't understand, hoping that certain imaginary situations and circumstances might reveal the reason. In other words, we have a meeting that comes about from a shared sentiment of not understanding.’ What differentiates AI from man is that the first has the answers and the solutions to each and every problem. Thus, the desire to approach something I don’t understand, to enter into the unknown, is refuted,” Stefania Goulioti noted.
“So, since the machines know, I wonder how the algorithm and the machine will bridge the gap and alienate me from the existential reason behind why I wanted to see theatre, to perform in the theatre or to write a play. To put it differently, it is exactly this element that brings us together that is missing. I am one of the people thinking we must converse with AI, and with each groundbreaking invention that takes the world by storm. Theatre and the performing arts always faced technology with distrust – take for example video art. The audience is the same way, perhaps because the artist’s labor is lost. Of course, there is no doubting the conveniences AI offers and the solutions it provides,” Mrs. Goulioti stressed.
Giorgos Drivas, in turn, referred to the experience of filming The Biography of a Software. “When we started this film, we couldn’t even imagine the trouble we would find ourselves in. One must work very hard to reach a point that will spark an interesting discussion that might resemble what the creator had intended. There is a script and an idea, and AI is there to help you. After several failed attempts, it starts to understand what you want. But at the same time, you get swayed by all the answers it has offered you as it has closed in on what you have in mind. So, it stops being a tool, and turns into a collaborator. The point of the discussion isn’t about what AI does, but what the creator does with Artificial Intelligence, and what kind of creators will emerge from its use. To broaden the scope, the key question is what kind of humans we will become after the advent of AI and its establishment. There are always certain people making money from technology, while access to it is easier for some and harder for others. For instance, when we have a child, we influence them as parents, but they influence us in return. Where this relationship will end up is dependent on both sides.”
Kostis Maraveyas, for his part, referred to the correlation between music and Artificial Intelligence. “We must write, compose, and record music with continuously evolving means. I didn’t perceive the entrance of AI into my life as something foreign, however, it concerned me greatly. Seeing the impact of social media, we have witnessed a new type of man, one who flirts with a wide range of things, from populism to authoritarianism. My biggest unease stems from the political impact it will have on the generations that will use AI at large. What kind of citizen will be forged amidst all this? What kind of social framework will be established? Will it be freer? I am afraid not,” Kostis Maraveyas underlined.
“All of us are stepping into a dark room with great uncertainty all around us. In this ambiguous framework, we, the artists, are called upon to create. I have been using AI for a long time, and the truth is it has indeed helped me take my first steps. Though soulless, it was the fuel behind my artistic creation. But when the creative process started, I always abandoned it. I can not trust it entirely, because in music, it has not evolved as much – thankfully. If any of you have used Suno, you can understand what I mean. I don’t perceive it as a technological defeat. Simply, great intellect cannot be produced by a machine as music carries many aspects of human existence within it. Music is a personal experience for each of us,” the renowned musician added.
Lauren Lee McCarthy, then, touched upon how the creative process has been altered with Artificial Intelligence. “It is a subject I often discuss with my students. Art is a way to process and respond to what is happening around us. Using AI, many possibilities open up, but personally speaking, I always want to feel the human element in creation. Whether I’m listening to music, or watching a film, I want to be one with the creator.” In line with this, Stefania Goulioti said that art remains something inherent to the human condition. “Art was, is, and will continue to be the result of a creator’s psychological need. With AI we are experiencing a great mental shift. Conversing with the machine is another artform, which can exhaust the desire to create. In any case, we aren’t traversing the age of the machine, even if machines do the thinking for us at times. I must mention, though, I am also seriously concerned about the creators’ mental health. With the emergence of Google, the democratization of knowledge was achieved. Now, we are experiencing the democratization of technical expertise,” Stefania Goulioti pointed out.
“If someone went through the discussions that took place when Photoshop first emerged, they would ascertain they weren’t all that different from those we are having today. We are at the precipice of suddenly realizing the meaning behind the saying ‘We are not the smartest in the room.’ We aren’t necessarily the smartest beings on the planet, and that has brought about some turmoil. Will AI ever make a good enough film to be screened at the Festival? If it lacks originality, we must realize we didn’t teach it to be so. Artificial Intelligence is like a mirror of humanity, and perhaps it will help us move on. To make the mistakes it cannot. We know very well that error is the quintessence of artistic creation,” Giorgos Drivas stressed.
Then, Kostis Maraveyas expressed his reservations about whether Artificial Intelligence can be perceived as a reflection of humanity. “My objection is that AI is a construct of companies running rampant, without adhering to regulations set by a scientific team. Europe still resists and puts forth stipulations, monitoring the whole process. However, it still is a primarily technocratic tool.” When asked by Giannis Stamatellos if AI can evoke true emotion, Mr. Maraveyas recounted a humorous personal incident. “Two and a half years ago, my partner celebrated her birthday in Hydra. It was when ChatGPT first got released and I wanted to see how it worked. So, I came up with the idea of writing something with ChatGPT, convinced at first that everyone would see right through it. I started speaking, being too sentimental, in front of ten people, and when I realized they were moved to tears, I knew we had reached a point of no return.”
In response to Mr. Stamatellos’ question on the concept of error in art, Lauren Lee McCarthy said the following: “Even machines make mistakes, it is something I observe very often. As AI progresses, the lines between what is real and what isn’t will become increasingly blurred. One of the advantages of making mistakes, whether in art, or life, is that it marks a uniquely significant moment. Now that we use these machines that move so fast, we must learn to take a breather. To take a step back and reflect on our creations,” the American artist concluded.
Next, Mrs. Goulioti stated that one of the greatest risks in utilizing AI is adopting complete standardization and eliminating the unforeseen, while Kostis declared he was optimistic that the audience’s inherent need to connect with the artist will never fade, as it is inscribed unto human consciousness. For her part, Lauren Lee McCarthy expressed her belief that it will alter how we define and understand human creativity once and for all. Concluding, Giannis Stamatellos remarked on the necessity of advancing alongside AI and not standing in its way, highlighting that the AI reveals many of the unseen aspects of the human psyche.
