AI & Myths of Creativity
Publication
Lev Manovich. AI & Myths of Creativity. (Draft version of Chapter 4 of Artificial Aesthetics by Lev Manovich and Emanuele Arielli)
Abstract
Discussions about AI in the visual arts, architecture, music, film, and other creative fields often rely on widely accepted assumptions about art and creativity. These ideas include the following: “Art is the most creative human domain,” “art and creativity can’t be measured,” and “artists do not follow rules.” People also often think that "computers only follow rules," and therefore "computers can't make new and original things." Together, these ideas lead to a new assumption: "Making original art is a great way to test how far AI has come."
Where do these popular ideas about art and its exclusive relationship to creativity come from? Historically, they are quite recent. All human civilizations have produced artifacts that today we put in art museums and worship as great art. But their creators did not have modern concepts of art, artist, and creativity. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the historical origins of widely held beliefs about creativity and the arts, and to argue that these ideas limit our vision of how AI can be used in culture.