Project Ai: Reaching Back

Reaching back into art history we recognize that humans are a mimicking species. The concept of original thought is wishful thinking at best. Certainly, ideas and concepts evolve but rarely (if ever) does a novel idea appear out of context, out of place and time. To better illustrate this, the historical record doesn't show a time where advanced technology suddenly emerges out of nowhere. The most impactful technologies, like the printing press, emerged from a long history of book creation. The invention was preceded by advances in metallurgy, machinery and carpentry. The same applies to what we are experiencing with blockchain and Ai tech. They do not exist without the telephone, computers and the Internet. One historical trend we can measure is the speed at which we are progressing. Blockchain and Ai are quantum leaps forward.

Similar principles apply to artmaking, including Ai art. Printmaking, graphic design, generative art and digital photography all evolved to allow for the emergence of Ai Generative Adversarial Networks. Ai utilizes vast databases of digitized imagery from art history to create derivative works. What was once done slowly in human brains is now processed at the speed of light. We are mimicking our creative abilities using technology. Human creativity is being unbound.

Source image for the digital projection can be found here: https://objkt.com/asset/KT1VvDNQeWE4QAaAmTDjui8ezT7htoxVBHLY/22

Learn more about my work at www.RobertMatheson.com and @Robert_Matheson