AI Art v My Heart

I’ve just left an art exhibition where some of the displayed works were AI-assisted.

The evening opened with an address about the introduction of AI into the art world—a topic that clearly carried emotion and, perhaps, arose from concerns already being voiced within the creative community.

I’ve written previously about AI, but this was the first time I had attended an exhibition where my own work was displayed alongside AI-generated pieces.

The images were undeniably aesthetic. They were visually pleasing in much the same way a beautifully designed poster can be. Yet as I stood before them, something felt absent.

Not once did I find myself wondering about the artist behind the work or the message they were trying to communicate. I didn’t marvel at the mastery of a technique or ponder how a particular effect had been achieved. Most noticeably, I felt nothing.

I did, however, think, “That’s pretty.”

Ai assisted art

But art has always aspired to be more than pretty.

For me, art is about connection. It is about standing before a piece and feeling something stir within you. It is about being challenged, inspired, comforted, unsettled, or moved. Art is a conversation between creator and viewer, a glimpse into another person’s experience, imagination, or truth.

There is also something profoundly meaningful in the process itself. The hours spent mixing paint in pursuit of the exact shade. The frustration of returning to the easel and trying to recreate a colour perfectly. The persistence required to refine a composition. The moment when you finally capture the soul of a person in a portrait, or the essence of a meal, a landscape, or a memory, and realise: I created that with my own hands, my own brush, my chosen medium.

Those moments matter.

Art has been the window through which we understand civilisations for centuries. Through it we discover their stories, beliefs, fears, triumphs, and dreams. Art documents humanity in a way facts and records alone never can.

It is also a source of joy.

At its heart, art is one of the most deeply human things we do. It is an expression of our curiosity, our emotions, our imperfections, and our desire to leave a mark on the world.

So I find myself asking: if art is such a fundamentally human act, why would we choose to outsource that part of ourselves to technology?