Whether obviously or subversively, algorithms influence our decisions and behaviors. From the mechanisms behind social media to simple internet searches, machine learning feeds our minds and directs our attention. Hidden behind layers of purposeful obfuscation, immense power has been concentrated into the hands of those who produce and control these systems while the majority of the public lacks the knowledge necessary to respond or assert agency in the creation and management of these systems.
In order to overcome these barriers, artists in particular must demand and create the resources needed to guide the future of AI so that society as a whole can imagine an expansive and positive view for our future. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to increase the diversity of voices that are shaping this future and it will require substantial advocacy and labor to get there.
To that end, I believe that we must create a precedent of providing open-source resources and education about AI so that it evolves into an accessible and comprehendible tool owned by society and not solely by a few. In order to support my proposal, I will approach some of the major misnomers and assumptions about AI and art, examine the legacies of multiple artists who have collaborated with AI to expand their practices and engage with a greater social commentary, discuss a few of the ethical dilemmas linked to the use of AI, and conclude with some ideas about how artists in particular might reimagine and reinvent the future of AI.
