AI can’t compete with art’s culture, Artificial work lacks human touch
Story by Ana Ruiz Brictson
Top: Students step outside to explore their creativity.
Artificial intelligence has continued to work its way into many spheres of life, but two staff and faculty members from Baylor’s art and art history department agree on one thing: it’s a tool above anything else. When it comes to art, AI fails to match the cultural aspect of renowned work.
Art history lecturer Chris Wood said that current outlook on AI is short-sided. He explained that almost everyone nowadays uses apps like Grammarly or spell check without recognizing that they’re using AI.
The tools level the playing field, Wood said. AI can be an additional source for students who come from low-income families and weren’t able to access the best schools, as well as help people who learned English as a second language.
Wood said that generative AI should not be viewed as the “boogie man” in a conversation, and explained how he uses Google Art Remix to make a point about AI to his students.
Google Art Remix is an experiment launched by Google where users use AI to change the parameters in a famous work of art. Wood said he assigns students to explore the platform, then asks them to reflect on questions like what it means to change an artistic masterpiece.
“Most of the time, it’s really great because they go back and forth. They go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s really horrible. The original one was better because you lose the meaning,’” Wood said.
He also said the original purpose of the assignment was to show students how they could use AI to generate art. As an instructor, he said he believes that’s what he and other educators are at the university for: to guide students through the process of thinking without forcing them to do it.
Baylor artist Ellie Cerwin listens to music as she pours into her art. Cerwin spends weeks working on her piece to bring it to completion with her original vision. Photos courtesy of Ellie Cerwin
Another AI project Wood said he has assigned students is to use the platform to reconstruct ancient Roman temples.
“This just gets students, especially my art students… it gets them thinking about, ‘Well, how can we take things to the next level?’” Wood said. “They don’t copy the work, but it makes them look at how a computer-generated algorithm can take something original and come up with a new idea.”
Lisa Fehsenfeld, visual resource curator for Baylor’s art and art history departments, said AI serves as a tool in the world of art, and its uses are only just now being tested in this field.
Wood said he invites students to use AI to see its limitations and to compare original works of art with AI copies, and to determine if there really is any value in using AI without understanding the culture and process behind it.
Baylor’s Academic Integrity Office states that “students should understand that offering for course credit as one’s own work, in whole or in part, the work of another, including an AI system, is not permitted under Baylor’s Honor Code.”
Lisa Fehsenfeld, visual resource curator for the art and art history departments, said when AI was initially introduced to people, the most common discussions were about ChatGPT, plagiarism and concern about it ruining many things.
“What we’re also seeing is it’s really turning to a wonderful tool for research, because it’s basically an aggregator,” Fehsenfeld said. “So instead of going to Google and putting in whatever word or topic, you can really use several different AI platforms and really be very specific about what you’re looking for.”
Fehsenfeld added that the advanced tool really helps with refined and in-depth research. She said art historians are beginning to look at AI as a resource for their work, as well as getting students to experiment with the useful parts of it by doing exploratory assignments.
Chris Wood, Baylor art history lecturer, said AI can be a helpful tool, but in creating art, the technology fails to give real meaning to the work it develops.
An example Fehsenfeld talked about is how graphic design students used AI for a project that dealt with logo design and branding. She said when a company approaches the creator about a project, they will initially come up with thumbnails, sketches or all iterations one can do with the product. During this stage of a project, AI can be used as a thesaurus or a visual thesaurus, Fehsenfeld said.
Wood said professors currently have access to a platform that allows them to identify and determine if a student’s work was done through AI. However, he said most historians and scholars don’t need those tools to recognize someone’s work was created that way.
After conducting research on student’s use of AI, the Higher Education Policy Institute reached the conclusion that at least 53% of students are using this platform to prepare for exams or assignments, some even use it like an “AI private tutor.”
Wood said when he finds a student guilty of using AI, he usually fails the assignment but gives them a second opportunity to submit it as he recognizes getting caught and failed can be traumatic.
One thing Fehsenfeld pointed out was how social media platforms like Instagram have now become a place where people view AI-generated photography.
“I think that a rest of our studio [classes] are just really beginning to sort of look at the tools, and seeing how is there a place for these [AI] platforms to be integrated into photography, in terms of creating art,” Fehsenfeld said.
In terms of predicting Baylor’s relationship with AI, Fehsenfeld said that as people test the platforms, they are going to see that they offer some tools and aid in creativity for art.
“Technology can be scary, but also technology can be a great tool,” Fehsenfeld said. “So I think it’s just really looking to experiment, being really open-minded and… if you think of our mission, it is to educate our students for the world.”
Baylor artist Ellie Cerwin adds final touches and adjustments to her work to continue to shape the piece until it meets the desired meaning and feeling she had when her painting was only an idea. Photo courtesy of Ellie Cerwin
