AI in Art: A Tool of Vision, Not a Theft of Creativity
I invite you today to reflect with me on the rightful place of generative artificial intelligence in the vast landscape of artistic creation. Let us compare it not to traditional pictorial tools but to the camera. Indeed, generative AI is not a brush, a palette, or a spatula — it is, above all, a technological tool, with astonishing potential capable of working on hyperrealistic content. Its strength, when placed in the hands of creators, lies in its ability to capture and transform the very essence of our visual world.
For 35 years, I have been immersed in the artistic world, both through my own work and within my family. I am an author, an inventor, and throughout these decades, I have experienced being copied and even had my creations and patents taken without due credit on multiple occasions. As someone deeply sensitive to intellectual property, I believe I am well-positioned to write this plea for generative AI.
The training phase of this AI can be seen as equivalent to the sources of inspiration of an artist. It never proceeds to a crude copy of the works it studies, except when this is deliberately intended by the operator using it, just as a painter may choose to pay homage to their predecessors. It is essential to understand that, since the dawn of art, the creations of others have always been a source of reinvention and dialogue.
Did Claude Monet, painting the gardens of Giverny, not reproduce the work of the craftsman who designed the bridge over the water lilies? When Richard Prince captures a street scene, thousands of invisible creators silently participate in his image: the designers of the vehicles captured, the stylists who imagined the clothing of the passersby, or the inventors of the neon signs that illuminate his frame. And yet, no one would accuse Richard Prince of improperly exploiting these creations. It is thus evident that the artist remains the author, responsible for the intention, the perspective, the vision. The camera is but the mute witness and vector of their gaze.
We are, therefore, on the wrong path if we seek to attribute the responsibility for creation to the tool. Responsibility lies with the artist, with the one who conceives and brings to life. The camera is never responsible for the photograph — just as generative AI is not responsible for the image it creates. It is the hand of the operator that directs, frames, and translates the creative impulse.
Ultimately, it is in the human mind that art is born, and AI, like any other tool, is merely a means. A prodigious means, certainly, but whose strength and beauty eminently depend on how it is used. Let us, therefore, recognize the infinite richness of this tool and allow those who wield it to explore new ways of contemplating, reinventing, and beautifying our world.
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