Michael E Katz
AI is a complex technology that is not fully understood by the general public, who see it as a sensational opportunity for the creation of visual art. I began using the Quantel Paintbox digital workstation 1981 as a graphic designer/director at the NBC television network. As an artist, I had been trained in drawing and painting in a variety of traditional mediums, including egg tempera, encaustic, oil and acrylic paint., I have been making digital paintings exclusively for over twenty years.
AI programming is limited by its inherent alpha-numeric language system. AI is based on words. It can only show you combinations of images indexed by their names. For example: “A dinosaur riding a motorcycle painted in the style of Van Gogh”. The human brain can create visual art experiences which cannot be accurately described in words.
Since computer programming is based on a text-oriented process, names for each of 10 to 100 million distinct colours would require 10 to 100 million individual colour names. Neurological scientists tell us of the 11. Imagine the problems establishing the terms to identify the plethora of unique sensations experienced through the other senses. The vast majority of human visual experience is ineffable.
Facts about the importance of vision over text:
Susan Magsamen- Co-author Ivy Ross co-authored the book, “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us,”
“We have 100 billion neurons and grow and learn through neuroplasticity. The more enriched environments, the more sensorial — not chaotic, but in a way that feels safe and often novel — is how our brains grow dramatically,” Magsamen said.
She added, “We have relegated art to only entertainment or enrichment – not lifeblood or birthright. We want to put art at the centre of our lives, not as something nice to have.”
This work is a lot of wind in the sails of the arts and health,” Magsamen said. “Curiosity, surprise, wonder — all attributes found in the art for the maker or the beholder — are important for human development. Researchers are finding that we, as humans, are hard-wired for aesthetic experiences. The arts are not just fundamental aspects of our humanity, but also essential to our well-being.”
Credit: businessinsider.com
“Art can create new neuropathways in the brain because this happens through sensorial experience.” Susan Magsamen
“Art can create new neuropathways in the brain through sensory experience. With high visual stimulation, if we see or make a lot of art, we are dramatically growing parts of our brain,” she added. “And it’s never too late to create an enriched environment, whether as the maker or the beholder in any art form.”
Bolstered by empirical evidence supporting its validity, art, ideally, can become a good habit more people will aspire to, along the lines of flossing or getting ten thousand steps in daily. The visual arts can prove particularly powerful.
AI currently generates images based on existing images.
