Told a guy at a gallery opening that AI art 'had no soul' and he hit me with a story I can't forget

I was at First Friday in downtown Austin last month, standing in front of a massive oil painting. Some guy next to me said his digital piece was generated in 12 seconds. I scoffed and said something about soulless machines. He just laughed and told me his wife has ALS and can't hold a brush anymore. She used an AI tool to sketch out a portrait of their daughter from memory. Then he asked me if that art had no soul either. I didn't have an answer. Has anyone else had a moment that flipped your whole stance?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan7252mo ago

Oh man... that's the kind of story that makes you feel about two inches tall. I once argued that digital photography wasn't "real photography" until someone showed me a photo their grandma took on her iPad right before she passed. Now I just keep my mouth shut about art.

tyler_wilson2mo ago

Wait did that actually change your whole view on what art is?

veram991mo ago

Wait, an iPad? Like one of the old ones with the big bezels? That's wild. I mean, I get the point but I can't picture a grandma using an iPad camera back then. Those older models had terrible low light and no zoom. Kinda makes me wonder if the camera was even the point, you know? Like maybe the moment mattered more than the megapixels.