AI, Art, and the Human Soul
Artificial intelligence (AI) is all over the news and it’s impacting every area of life. There are many objections to AI (some valid and some not) but AI is clearly a massively disruptive technology.
The world of art is an excellent microcosm of the disruptions AI is causing at large, so we have a great opportunity to understand more about the AI debates, and end up with some helpful conclusions, by examining it through the lens of art.
One of the biggest and least defined objections to AI is that it isn’t human therefore it cannot make “art.” In the art world, this camp appears to define art as “an expression of a human.” I’m tempted to spend time defining art, but instead I’ll step back and ask what it means to be human.
I’ll confess up front that I am an AI-optimist (a term I borrow from Joanna Penn). I’ve been experimenting with AI since 2023 and believe it has wonderful potential. I’ve come to the conclusion that AI is a powerful and helpful tool and should be used responsibly. How did I get there? I think it all starts with philosophy.
Worldview/Philosophy
Art and Philosophy might be my two favorite subjects to talk about and they have a surprising amount of overlap!
Modern Western culture is such a mash up of ideas that most people aren’t sure, or at least aren’t able to articulate, what they believe about a human’s value, identity, and where our uniqueness comes from. Is it from our intellect and reason? Our productivity and accomplishments? Or individuality?
The Contemporary art movement seems to be largely based on a Humanistic understanding of what it means to be human. Mixed with Enlightenment thinking and other modern ideas, many artists and art critics believe that human identity/value is dependent on human capacities.
This way of thinking is threatened by AI because, when AI can do so many things that once only human could do, it raises difficult questions about human identity. Many people ask, what now makes a human distinctly, uniquely human? (Uniqueness is a chief value in Contemporary art, but that’s a post for another day). They respond with “AI images aren’t art” as a way of defending what it means to be human. However, what happens with AI images are indistinguishable from human created images, or vice versa?
It turns out that Christian theology gives us a solid place to stand while we evaluate artificial intelligence:
Christianity tells us we are valuable because we are created in the image of God, not because of what we produce. In this way, AI exposes our mistaken tendency to define people by their accomplishments. Instead, our human worth is greater than our output because we are made in God’s image. Yes, humans create stuff (it’s part of who we are), so it can feel confusing that suddenly robots seem to be creating. However, creating isn’t what makes us human; being human is what makes us create.
No matter how good AI becomes at creating images, humans will continue to create images as well because making art is not just about the result, but about the journey. The process of making art rewires your brain and connects with your soul. it teaches you to see, builds cognitive flexibility, and reduces stress.
Producing images does not make AI human, or make people less valuable. No matter how you define ‘art’ or how you measure the quality of a work of art, humans and AI are distinctly different.
From this perspective, and in this narrow discussion, we no longer need to worry about how we define “art” or if AI images count as “art.” Instead we can ask ourselves what the purpose of the image is and what the correct tool for the job is.
Not surprisingly, AI is a great tool, when used responsibly, for all sorts of image creation. I want to encourage you and your students to experiment with AI. Figure out what it can do and how it can help you. Tinker with it like you would any new tool or technology. It’s helpful in the art room and in all your other subjects as well… IF you use it responsibly.
How do we use it responsibly? By putting in place our own personal guardrails. In my next post I’ll suggest some guardrails, but I’m interested in yours as well. How do you ensure you’re using any powerful new technology responsibly?
This Is Part of a Series About AI
Here are the other parts:
- Personal Guardrails for AI Use- Freedom and Responsibility
- How to Use AI in the Art Classroom: 18 Practical Ideas
- Common Objections to AI (Water Use and Copyright)
I also recently appeared on the AI and Your Homeschool podcast with Nancy Manos to talk about using AI thoughtfully in art education. We explore practical ways AI can support learning, how to recognize when it begins replacing the work students need to do, and why hands-on art-making and human creativity still matter. Listen to the podcast episode (and find all the show notes and links) on Nancy’s website or watch it on YouTube.