AI and/or Art: Working With or Against AI
I called this session as a writer and theatre practitioner who is concerned about the rise of AI, but also curious about its application.
I have recently been experimenting with how it might improve my written work and writing process and this has brought many questions around the ethical and artistic ramifications of outsourcing creative work to a machine that is trained largely on non-consensually obtained IP, is likely to undercut creative workers, and has a negative impact on the environment.
The discussion was well attended and the debate was very broad and at times divisive, passionate and confusing. We focussed mainly on discussion of LLMs, e.g. ChatGPT, DeepSeek, though the discussion was not rigidly specific on this focus.
The discussion could be split into two separate but related conversations:
• What are the possible professional/creative applications of AI?
• How will AI impact the ways we make, distribute and engage with art? (And should we be worried?)
This is not an exhaustive transcript but more of an overview of the subjects discussed.
APPLICATION
Some examples of useful AI usages discussed include:
• Admin tasks
• Assisting written applications
• Editing writing
• Coming up with ideas
• Research
One participant had used ChatGPT to create artwork for a piece of theatre. They had experienced a medical emergency and recovery was partly the result of an AI diagnosis. The subsequent show they made using AI-generated artworks did not bring the catharsis they had hoped in the creative process.
Another participant referred to some AI ‘photographs’ they had seen which reimagined a period of Indian colonial history that is poorly documented. This might allow for engagement with ‘blank spots’ in history, but also might run the risk of misrepresenting the past by steering perception and incorporating the biases of the technology.
Another participant had used ChatGPT to experiment with editing play-scripts and prose fiction, with results of varying quality, but some genuinely improved drafts.
Recent examples in mainstream culture include the use of AI to refine Adrian Brody’s accent in The Brutalist. Less famously and controversially, Across the Spider-Verse also used AI in the process, making it possible to achieve certain animation styles that would otherwise have been incredibly time-consuming costly.
We also discussed the use of AI in the ‘recreation’ of individuals’ speech patterns and personality styles to allow for continued engagement with avatars of people after they have passed away.
IMPLICATION
Concern was raised by many present at the impact AI would have on artists’ lives, including:
• IP being used/stolen without consent to train software
• Replacement by cheaper AI-creation/production methods, and consequent loss of income
• Human creative work being devalued
• Taking away the exciting parts of creativity
Examples were given of how this is happening in the music industry, where big labels and producers might shortcut artists as it’s cheaper/easier to use AI. Academia was also mentioned as a field where the implications of AI-generated material was already being felt.
One participant posited that the introduction of AI might shift notions of authorship and Intellectual Property in a positive way, as we currently over-value the written word as property, and current contractual standards don’t remunerate performers, directors and other creatives who feed into the creation of theatre.
A counter-argument was that many of the large corporations primarily value profits/growth, so would likely use the technology to shut all artists out of the work.
The UK is in the position of being both a tech innovation hub but also a huge cultural powerhouse — conflict between the technology and artists’ rights and interests.
A lack of legislation, ethical precedent and transparency mean that it’s hard to police the negative impact on artists’ lives.
Big question: are we still in an experimental phase, or is the horse already out of the gates?
LEGISLATION
Someone raised an interesting point that the discussion shouldn’t just be a for/against debate, but focus on how we as a society can legislate.
One member of the group was present as they are putting together an AI policy for a theatre company, and curious about the needs/ethical considerations for working with artists to keep them safe, and maintain coherence with company’s other core values.
This raised many questions, including the following:
• Who ‘owns’ IP generated from AI software?
• Should the use of AI software in a creative process be declared?
• How can we protect creatives’ work?
• How can we make sure AI-usage coheres with other values and policies, e.g. environmental sustainability
• How can we avoid backlash and ‘being shouted at’; i.e. how do we know what’s right/wrong, and what’s going to get you in trouble as a producer/creative/company?
• How does the value of the artists’ work change when tasks previously considered to fall within their remit can be outsourced to technology?
Instead of being top-down, these policies should be developed and discussed with artists. This would prevent prescriptive rules that interfere with creative process, but also provide guidelines and structure so that artists don’t feel they are making decisions entirely on their own.
For larger organisations, it may be that there is an ‘AI representative’ who, much like other roles (DEI, sustainability, wellbeing) works across departments to ensure policies are understood and implemented correctly.
IP law is still quite blurry around the use of AI as it’s often intentionally difficult to see ‘how the sausage is made’.
SUSTAINABILITY
Another question considered was the environmental impact of using AI software as the servers used to operate the software use a considerable amount of energy.
Many people in the group said that this would be a consideration for them in terms of how much they would use the software, but there was disagreement/confusion about the specific energy costs/environmental impact of the software.
It was discussed whether it was possible/useful to discuss AI independently of environmental considerations, or if that was a separate conversation, which led into a more general discussion around the ways we hold ourselves to account ethically, particularly in more left-wing spaces where the bar is generally higher for maintaining moral standards. Would imposing rules/judgement around AI usage be akin to demanding someone be vegetarian for environmental reasons? Again comes back to choice — but choice in an environment where there are so few rules is fraught.
CONCLUSION
The conversation raised many questions but not many answers. It’s a confusing and challenging subject matter that makes people feel threatened and uncertain about the future. It’s difficult to discuss one aspect of it without raising many other questions.
From the discussion, my personal view is that the three main things that would help us progress as a society on this issue are the following:
• Education — what are AI systems, how do they work, what are we looking at when we look at AI ‘art’? What is the impact of their usage?
• Policy — rules and guidelines to protect all stakeholders, at a national, industry and company level
• Transparency — openness and a willingness to discuss these issues
• Questions that the group could not definitively answers included:
• Is it possible to trace the origin of content that appears in AI-generated content?
• What is the ‘human’ side of the creative process?
• What is the environmental impact of AI software usage?
• Should artists/producers declare AI usage in their work?
RESOURCES
BBC: ‘What is AI, and how do programmes like ChatGPT and DeepSeek work?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65855333
Arts Marketing Association: AI Sector Support Example AI Policy. https://www.a-m-a.co.uk/ai-sector-support-example-ai-policy/
Writer’s Guild of Great Britain: Writers and AI – a policy position statement. https://writersguild.org.uk/wggb-campaigns/writers-and-ai-policy/
UN Environment Programme: ‘AI has an environmental problem. Here’s what the world can do about that.’ https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/ai-has-environmental-problem-heres-what-world-can-do-about