By Published: Nov. 6, 2023

Hannah Purvis art piece (MFA鈥25) began using artificial intelligence (AI) programs in her paintings and drawings only last fall. Now, she uses them regularly.听

She may upload a rough sketch into a deep learning model like Stable Diffusion to prompt the program to create similar imagery which she鈥檒l then paint by hand, re-upload and create animation frames for interactivity. Other times, she鈥檒l ask AI to purposefully manipulate one of her prints so she can respond to the new image by painting over it.听

鈥淭his back-and-forth process explores interactive art and uses physical and digital space simultaneously,鈥 said Purvis, who came to CU from Houston, Texas. 鈥淚n a way, I鈥檓 trying to be a computer, and the computer is trying to be a painter.鈥

Art students at 精品SM在线影片 are experiencing a new era firsthand.听听听

鈥淎s with the general public, the student population鈥檚 response to AI is mixed: Some think of it as just another tool to be used in the creation of new works of art and creative writing,鈥 said CU art and art history professor Mark Amerika, who has worked with AI for four years and integrates it into his teaching. 鈥淥thers are suspicious of the way AI has appropriated the work of others and prefer to imagine that the only real way to be an artist is to create something supposedly original.鈥澨

Amerika 鈥 who has his AI-influenced art published in two solo exhibitions this year in and 鈥 plans to integrate more AI art techniques into the classroom and his creative practice. Students are following suit.听

Ryze Xu art

Since 2018, (MFA鈥24) has been experimenting with the ways public AI programs use language to produce an output. Then he started using these programs in his art.听听

As a ceramicist, who turned to clay after eschewing a career path as a fashion designer, he likens his process with AI to using the kiln.听

鈥淚 view AI as a form of machinery, a tool that, at its core, operates on basic principles akin to all kinds of our daily technology,鈥 said Xu. 鈥淭he kiln is where we input clay and heat and we end up with fired ceramics, but you can鈥檛 see what is happening inside the kiln鈥ith AI we input the world, but we can鈥檛 see what鈥檚 happening with the AI, and there is unpredictability with this process,鈥 he said.听

鈥淚 view AI as a form of machinery, a tool that, at its core, operates on basic principles akin to all kinds of our daily technology鈥

Xu is in favor of embracing AI and has digitized photos of some of his ceramics to train AI programs like Stable Diffusion to produce more art like his.

鈥淚 find gratification in comprehending AI鈥檚 capabilities and limitations,鈥 said Xu. 鈥淭his nuanced engagement allows me to offer a different perspective on how we interact with technology and how it influences our artistic expressions.

Eileen Roscina art (MFA鈥23) chooses not to use AI in her work as a filmmaker and multimedia artist.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 very troubling to me,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o much of it is an illusion 鈥 an illusion of connection.鈥澨

Roscina uses natural materials in her art, like creating works with pressed flowers. She鈥檚 drawn to the ephemeral nature of them, she explained, and the fact that they don鈥檛 last.听

鈥淎rt brings the potential for a deeply human connection,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want people to realize the beauty of not recording everything.鈥

Regardless of their views on AI, all three students agree that it鈥檚 too new to make predictions yet.听

鈥淲e鈥檝e only really been talking about this for a year,鈥 said Purvis. 鈥淛ust like in art history when the camera was invented and people were really resistant to the change it brought, I think AI can be seen as a new tool in the same way.鈥澨