AI AND ART BOTH START WITH THE LETTER “A”

clara17794
May 10
11 min read

Mila

10/05/2025

I always struggle to start writing something, and this was no exception. But today I felt oddly inspired and the reason why might come as a surprise to you. Let me explain. I think I speak for almost everyone when I say that the beginning of a paper, column, essay, sketch, lyrics, and other things along those lines, is the hardest point in the process. Why? because it's going from staring at a blank paper or canvas to tainting it with words or paint that have to be good enough for the first try; a good baseline. Or if you’re a little bit like me, and you don’t like to edit later and just want to write something that is ‘perfect’ from the start, that pressure is even bigger. Having said this, you might have been wondering all this time what was the reason I felt oddly inspired today, and the answer to that is simply: that I was not alone. What does that mean? I could be very literate and say my mum was working in the same room as me —which is true— but that is not it; the reason is that I felt accompanied by AI. What? Yes, you heard it right ladies and bros and non-binary folks; I didn’t feel alone because I had ChatGPT open in another tab. Now, why does that matter? Because when I was trying to come up with an introduction to this column, I wrote to ChatGT “Can you write an interesting and catchy brief introduction for an opinion column on the topic AI in art?” And while I had no means to actually use whatever it answered —I just wanted an idea—, it gave me inspiration to start this essay as I am now. Think of it as having an artist friend, who knows a lot more than you, so you know you can ask them whatever and they will respond. Having that possibility is reassurance enough to let yourself be more free and creative and throw yourself into your work without too much thought because you know you have someone—something that is “watching over you,” and to whom/which you can come for different necessities. I will explain this idea more throughout this column.

What is my opinion, you may ask? While it is true that AI is somewhat dangerous and uncertain news for artists, it is also a companion we should know how to work with now that it is here and has hundreds of tools that could be beneficial for us, creatives. I like to think of AI as the new awkward but very intelligent coworker that just joined season five of The Office™ (not the actual show we all know, but your actual office) who you don’t really want to talk to but you have now that they are here. And that maybe in the long run, you will figure out that they are actually a good sport.

In this column I will talk about (1) My own start as a creative, as to give a background to my current opinion; (2) then I will hint at the definition of AI and art, as well as breaking them down; (3) thirdly, refute a point that was said in E.S paper to give my own opinion; (4) then continue with a list and a brief explanation of the –good– tools artists can get from AI, that I have learnt to use; (5) I will finish with the proper conclusion.

(1) Just like my co-writer of Canvas & Quill, my beginning in art and literature was way before a thing like AI even existed. Along these lines, I remember my first book, “Murder on 'The Canadian' by Eric Wilson. It got me hooked on reading and made me ask my mum for my first saga “Fairy Oak,” which made me love reading even more. Because of that love for reading, I started to write poetry and short stories, ad hoc for a little girl, I will say that, but I was writing nonetheless. My passion for literature only grew from then on, and when I was grown, I took a school elective on literature and read every single one of the books required for school —well, a little confession, all but one: “La Pérgola de las Flores, but only because it was a play and the test was us acting out a piece of it— until I took literature at university and got asked to be an assistant professor. I declined because I was just starting Law School and was too worried I wouldn’t have much time to study. Sadly, I forgot my love for writing and reading for a lot of years because I was so caught up with studying to really allow myself to do other things besides that; but while studying for the Bar, I gathered a lot of ideas I had in dreams and daydreams, and suddenly had the need to turn them into a book. So I did. And so I wrote my first book. And then my second. And now I’m writing my third, plus some Novellas’. And it was that love for writing and arts that suddenly came rushing back that made me realise I didn’t want to do Law, so I started doing creative writing and publishing courses at Stanford and started this blog with E.S. Then AI became a thing, and I can honestly say it has made my life so much easier. But I can safely say so not only because it gives me answers to my daily life questions and dilemmas and my writing ones; but also because I have learnt how to —in my opinion— correctly take its answers as if they were an opinion from that intelligent friend everybody secretly wanted them to help you. In other words, while I am learning how to use it properly, I am open minded to the tools it has given me as a creative and to mix it with my own creations in a way that they stay true to me and what they are while also staying true to the overall facts of the rules of our world. All this is just the backbone to my current opinion, to which I can add that art itself should coexist with and the duty to keep pace with, the modern world, its technologies and innovations such as Artificial Intelligence.

(2) Furthermore, I will always be an advocate to start each paper, essay, or whatever project you are currently on, with the definition of the subject you are going to talk about. The reason behind it is no other than the complete understanding of the concept that poses as the baseline of the paper, which without it, it would be futile to even think of proceeding to read said document.

Then, what is AI? “Artificial Intelligence (AI), a term coined by emeritus Stanford Professor John McCarthy in 1955, was defined by him as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines”. Much research has humans program machines to behave in a clever way, like playing chess, but, today, we emphasize machines that can learn, at least somewhat like human beings do.” (Stanford Professor Christopher Manning, September 2020). I think it is more than merely that, but, since I am no expert on this subject and was curious to hear the answer of the very subject of this topic, I resorted to asking ChatGPT the definition for Artificial Intelligence, which was: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think, learn, and make decisions. These systems can perform tasks typically requiring human cognition, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, language translation, and problem-solving. AI systems improve over time through experience, often using algorithms and large data sets to refine their performance.” It is no surprise that the very same AI gave a better and more complete definition of itself. Let’s break it down.

“The simulation of human intelligence.”

Simulation means imitation. AI systems are designed to imitate human thought processes, such as reasoning, learning, and adapting. Thus, this refers to the fact that AI does not actually think or feel like a human does, on the contrary, it mimics how we process information. It's like creating a very smart puppet that can analyze data, recognize patterns, and make decisions, but without consciousness or emotions.

“In machines that are programmed to think, learn, and make decisions”

It’s not real intelligence in the human sense (like having self-awareness), but a programmed behavior that appears smart. Think of it like a calculator simulating math skills—it doesn’t “understand” math, but it produces correct results. AI does the same with more complex tasks, like understanding speech or playing chess.

“Can perform tasks typically requiring human cognition”

In all honesty, I had trouble with this one, since I am no expert, so I asked ChatGPT to explain it and here it is what it said: “AI can do things that usually only humans could do because they involve thinking, understanding, or decision-making. Here’s how to break it down:

“Human cognition” refers to: Understanding language (like reading or having a conversation); Recognizing images or sounds (like knowing what a cat looks like); Making decisions (like choosing the fastest route on a map); Learning from experience (like getting better at a game the more it plays). So when AI “performs these tasks,” it means: A voice assistant understands your words and responds (like a human would in a conversation); A self-driving car makes real-time decisions (like when to stop or turn); A recommendation system suggests movies you might like based on your preferences—just like a friend might.

It doesn’t think like a person, but it can replicate the outcomes of human thinking well enough to be useful or even impressive.”

“AI systems improve over time through experience, often using algorithms and large data sets to refine their performance”

This is pretty self explanatory, so there is no explanation required.

In addition, it is necessary to give the definition of “art,” since it is another of the baseline concepts for this paper. Britannica Dictionary definition of ART is: “1. [noncount] : something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.” In other words, it can be said that art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” (Oxford Dictionary).

Here’s what we can get from the two definitions:

The first point is pretty self explanatory, it needs to come from a human mind. So we could establish that being a human is required to be an artist.
The second point is that it is created off of human imagination and applied through their —artistic— skills.
The third point is that it is mostly appreciated by its beauty. This does not mean it is “only” appreciated for being beautiful, like, for example, some people think when they fail to see the true meaning of a painting and just point out that it is pretty.
The fourth point is connected to the prior one when it says it expresses important ideas or feelings / emotional power.

(3) Thirdly, for this part I suggest you read E.S paper beforehand, as I am about to refute a point she made. Also, the more knowledge you have, the better, I believe.

In this regard, I can now reveal what was the answer of ChatGPT to my initial question. It said: “There was a time when creativity belonged to trembling hands, sleepless minds, and the chaos of human emotion. Now, lines once drawn in charcoal are sketched in code. With every image AI generates and every poem it mimics, we inch closer to a world where originality feels automated and artists are forced to compete with machines trained on their very souls. This isn’t innovation—it’s quiet erasure.” At first it seems like a very deep and smart quote, but I believe we are forgetting something very crucial: AI cannot replace human and art essence. Whatsmore, E.S, said that Artificial Intelligence was indeed attempting to replace our essence as creatives, but even she herself later on explained she didn’t believe that could be done, which I agree.

What is essence? What I learned from Natural Law was that essence is the intrinsic, defining quality that makes something or someone what they truly are, what makes it what it is, at its core. “For example, the essence of art could be expression or emotion and the essence of a person might be their character, spirit, or values. AI can mimic, but not be. It can simulate creativity, generate images, mimic brushstrokes, write poems, even compose symphonies—but what it lacks is intention, emotion, and experience. These are the raw materials that give art its essence. Humans create art because we live, suffer, love, hope, and question. AI does not. It processes. It patterns. It mirrors. But it does not feel.”(Chat GPT). So no, while I do understand the apprehension, AI is not replacing our essence as it cannot be done.

(4) So, what are some examples of smart ways to use AI for art purposes? Artists can use AI to help them improve a paragraph; ask a question they need an answer to on a topic they are not that well informed about; ask it to correct their spelling mistakes or replace a word they repeat a lot; or even proofread what they wrote. You can also use it as that one smart friend that has an answer for everything who you go to for the writing questions that were hard to get a reply for, like how to write fight scenes, how much blood does a deep cut in the arm bleed, what are characters’ flaws versus weaknesses, what are some non-lethal poisons that turn you blue; you know, the normal stuff for writers.

Overall, writers can use it for: “idea/prompts generations; outlining and creating a structure for their books; writing assistance with emails, for example; grammar and spelling checks, style improvements, suggest clearer phrasing, translating texts, asking information and also comparing and analyzing it, ideas for character development, worldbuilding, dialogue; even a plan for their projects/current WIPS; ask for ideas for cover letters and emails when querying; citation help; SEO optimization, social media captions for their posts, and blurbs ad synopsis writing” (ChatGPT).

What about other creatives like artists, musicians, actors, etc.? Well, they can use it to: “search for history of art, the explanation of a painting; the best approach to start a painting, sketch or song; style transfer; color palette suggestions for their paintings; generate quick comps for client presentations; Beat & Melody Creation: Use AI tools to create loops or melodies for their songs; get inspiration for themes, rhymes, and structures or lyrics; convert audio into sheet music; play with fusions and styles using generative models; script Analysis like understand tone, themes, and emotional beats; AI can simulate dialogue for rehearsals; also generate or analyze movement patterns and create projection content or set designs” (ChatGPT).

And these are only a few ideas.

(5) In conclusion, Artificial Intelligence is the echo of human thought shaped in code; machines that see, speak, decide, and learn. Like apprentices of the mind, they absorb patterns from oceans of data, refining their craft with each step, but they still depend on the human mind and knowledge. While my beginning was one without AI, I believe art has the duty to keep pace with the modern world, its technologies and innovations, and thus, it is only appropriate for it to learn how to coexist with AI and use it for its benefit. But that requires our willingness to learn and keep up as well. That is why doing courses on AI can be beneficial not only for the art part, but for all areas of existence. Meanwhile, Art is the expression of human imagination and skill, crafted to be beautiful or to convey profound ideas and emotions—often in visual forms like painting or sculpture—created to stir thought, feeling, and appreciation. Like so, AI cannot replace human and art essence, for it is impossible for it to do so because that essence comes from our very soul, our very human soul. And only we know how to translate the language of souls into an expression of art; while AI can try to mimic it, it lacks the rawness, emotions, spirit and values. Therefore, like I asserted before, I am of the belief that art can and has to coexist with AI and learn how to use the tools it brings to us, like the ones I mentioned in the prior paragraph.