The emergence of Artificial Intelligence generated artworks has led to an extensive discussion on the authenticity of its artistic qualities. While the products of AI art seem similar, if not identical, to human produced artworks, the processes behind them diverge sharply from their traditional-art counterparts. By using networks and algorithms which learn and replicate existing artistic features, AI can quickly generate works across a wide range of forms and styles, faster and more targeted than human artists (Helliwell, 2022). This difference in method, coupled with the metaphysical distinction between the two “artists”, naturally raises the question: Can AI- generated art be considered as authentic art?

​

Philosophers have offered many aesthetic theories to answer this question, from Kant’s emphasis on the free play of human’s rational imagination (Kant, 2000), to expressionist views and creativity centered arguments. However, an application of these theories onto AI created artworks lead to conflicting results. This inconsistency reveals the necessity not to insist on these theories and modes of thought, and ask not whether AI is an artist, but return to the existentialist essence of art. Art is widely considered to be a form of human existence, and thus the development of aesthetic theories throughout history also imply a change in the way humans understand their existence. My research question follows from this, exploring: To what extent should art be reconceptualized as a relational process between humans and AI?

​

This essay discusses the question in three parts. In part one, major influential subjectivist definitions of art will be applied to AI artworks, showing how their different conclusions mark the limitations of existing theories. Part two transcends these theories, rejecting a stagnant definition of both artists and artworks, then refutes the existing theories of human-machine relationships. Finally, using process philosophy, post humanism theories, and phenomenology, part three will argue that art should be perceived as a relational, processual activity between these two dynamic beings, before reflecting on the societal implications of this new relationship. Through this structure, this essay aims to argue that art, as a co-created process, is grounded not only on a strong philosophical foundation but can be practically implemented in reality.