Using AI as a Tool to Better an Artist’s Life
It is not news that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rocked our worlds. Whether it is answering our questions, interpreting statistics, giving us an email format to follow or generating images of our wildest imaginations, it has proven itself a worthy assistant.
However, the creative world is just as scared of AI as it is in awe of it. Job insecurity is just one example of what artists are afraid AI might mean for them. Nevertheless, optimists are looking at how this technology can aid artists and creatives in their endeavours, rather than replace them.
AI-Powered Productivity Tools
Artists are experiencing lower levels of stress and creativity restriction with AI-powered tools taking that weight off their shoulders.
Similar to writer’s block, artists are sometimes faced with the harsh reality of having limited ideas. AI can help to generate ideas whether that be suggesting colour schemes, themes, subject mediums or compositions. Artists can also prompt these models with keywords and then use what it creates as a springboard for their own works. Furthermore, the models are great at generating mood boards which are mostly always the starting point for artists and creatives.
Whilst AI Art Generators can produce artworks that rival man-made pieces, one must remember how the ‘robot’ learnt to do just that. As a machine learning model, AI is trained on a data set of existing art and then applies the knowledge it has learnt to other problems. Furthermore, it relies on input prompts before it can produce an artwork. Therefore, the artist is at the centre of it all without stepping on anyone’s toes. It is similar to the chicken and the egg, but the artist definitely came first here.
Some examples of these AI-powered tools are DALL-E AI, ChatGPT, Midjourney and Artbreeder. Artists can now unleash their imaginations with these tools as trusty companions to assist them in bringing visions to life. It has not replaced artists, but simply become their favourite coworker, agreeing to anything.
Technology and 3D-Printing
Artists can now rely on AI to generate complex 3D designs in ways that reduce material wastage and increase object production. It can also optimise printing processes and enhance the final outcome. This is done by monitoring the 3D printing whilst it is occurring. Artists merely need to focus on their creative vision and let AI do the rest.
One such example is South African artist, Nandipa Mntambo’s three metre sculptures of Benin’s 19th Century warrior women, the Agoodjie. “What would have taken me eight months to do, I can now do in two,” says Mntambo.
Another example is Ralph Borland’s Bone Flute. Technology assisted Borland in scanning, refining and printing a 3D model of his femur bone, which he then used in various installations.
AI Research and Innovation
AI can be used to remember what humans have otherwise forgotten. Whether you are an artist or a beginner in the creative field, it can assist in telling any story you wish to share with the world. It also takes the burden of research off your shoulders, saving you time and reducing the effort.
The Unrecorded Voices Programme 2024 run by the French Institute of South Africa used AI to recreate and reimagine untold or forgotten narratives. The programme invited participants to use technological tools to create documentaries based on historical events and fictional narratives. It all accumulated at the Playtopia Festival in Cape Town.
Chelsea Goliath, a creative technologist and immersive artist from Wits University, said: “I am constantly drawn to how technology can reshape narratives and the idea of creative speculative AI-generated documentaries excite me.”
AI was used as a tool for creatives to input ideas and narratives that would otherwise never be shown to the world.
Therefore, artists no longer need to be bugged down by time restrictions, creative blocks or human limitations. AI helps to ensure every artist can bring their vision to life through editing, analysing, improving and refining without replacing the original artist. Technology enhances human expression instead of replacing it.
