When a machine makes it, is art still Art?
FluidScapes — by [Reza Ali](/artists/q-a-with-reza-ali-7e6cd5bf0278) at [CODAME](/orgs/codame) Art by Code (2014 ) — Metal Prints, C++ & openFramework Staring at some reputed masterpieces of modern art and at some images produced by A.I. systems, many lay people prefer the latter. Many people think that the art produced by the machine is more beautiful than the art made by humans and certified by art historians, galleries and museums (not to mention wealthy collectors). Many people even confess that they feel moved by the art produced by the machine. That is, of course, until someone tells them that the art was made by a machine. This prompts several questions “What is Art?” Is it Art only if it is made by humans? Can animals, rivers and machines also make Art? Who decides what is Art and what is not? “Who made the art?” Human beings designed and implemented the A.I. system that produced the art: who should take credit for the art? What is fundamentally different between an A.I. system and traditional software? We don’t think of our email system as a system that “writes” emails, but simply as a tool to write emails. At which point does software become a subject rather than an object? What is the difference between a conscious mind and a tool that can be as creative as the conscious mind? As machines become more creative, how does our relationship with them change? Explore this questions with [Piero Scaruffi](/artists/piero-scaruffi) , a cultural historian and a veteran of Artificial Intelligence, moderates a panel with roboticist/artist Alexander Reben , art critic [Meredith Tromble](/artists/meredith-tromble) , and philosopher [John Campbell](/artists/john-campbell) at this year’s CODAME [ART+TECH Festival](/orgs/codame/events/codame-art-tech-festival-2013), codenamed #ARTOBOTS. June 7, Thursday, 1.30pm-2.30pm at The Midway, San Francisco.