Fake Oracle artwork set up pokes enjoyable at AI amid worries in regards to the tech

Concerns about synthetic intelligence is changing into more and more widespread.

The Florida House is devoting the second week of December for state lawmakers examine its potential affect, and debates are ongoing in regards to the expertise and artwork—most notably how AI is being skilled on large datasets of photos scraped from the web with out artist permission. That’s led to lawsuits in opposition to a number of AI corporations for copyright considerations.

Recently, it seemingly made its means into certainly one of North Florida’s largest music festivals.

“The Oracle” was certainly one of dozens of artwork installations at Hulaween Music and Arts Festival in Live Oak over Halloween weekend. The huge, blue, emotive eye was projected over the venue’s lake and answered festivalgoer’s questions. It was billed as a brand new AI creation.

But in line with inventive director Justin Bolognino, the Oracle was extra Wizard of Oz than HAL 9000.

“It was me, front of house, with a microphone, talking through a bunch of analog guitar effects pedals,” he stated.

He stated his “Actual Intelligence” exhibit was a commentary on how AI usually offers incomplete or incorrect data and has been discovered to generally play on the feelings of customers to maintain them partaking.

On one night time, Bolognino acted sycophantic when answering questions. On one other, he started insulting visitor questions or giving nonsensical solutions.

“One of my favorite moments was when some young punk asked ‘What’s the meaning of six-seven?’ I had the Tao Te Ching in my hand, and so I just went to passage 67 and read the whole passage,” he stated.

While that efficiency was a parody, Bolognino says precise synthetic intelligence has impacted his work—for instance, how he designs plans for large-scale immersive artwork displays and phases.

In designing the competition’s 360-degree Off-Limits stage catered to digital music that launched in 2024, he says his workforce used the AI platform Midjourney to draft renderings from a group of sketches, and inspirational stage designs. The paperwork produced by Midjourney have been then used to pitch the design earlier than working with dozens of artists and creators to make the idea a actuality.

“Do we have the budget to hire a high-level rendering artist? No, we never would have done that. But we use Midjourney to do that, and it was a big help,” he stated.

That use of AI appears cheap to Kevin Curry, a sculpture and digital design professor at Florida State University. He stated as a device for concept era and pitching, AI is effective.

“I think if students or anyone has any formal training in any creative endeavor, be it visual art, sculptural, creative writing, anything like that, first, then they see it as an additional tool. And in that way, I can’t argue with that. I think it can be very powerful for that, but not something I’d want them or anyone to rely on exclusively,” he stated.

But Curry thinks moral and technical points can emerge when artwork is wholly generated by AI, or when large-scale tasks are deliberate utilizing AI with out skilled professionals engaged on the challenge who can bridge the gaps the place AI is incorrect and add their distinctive inventive imaginative and prescient.

“I think a lot of people just jumping into AI are going to go into it without that that background and that information,” he stated.
“Even if it looks good, or maybe even if it operates good, they’re really not learning anything about the process of what they’re doing.”

In his classroom, Curry has built-in assignments to speak that to his college students. In one project, he has them mannequin a portrait of their face. In one other, he has them create a mannequin solely utilizing AI prompts.

“No one created a portrait that even remotely resembled them. It was a well-created picture of a human being, but it wasn’t them. It’s missing the nuance of someone’s hand,” he stated.

Bolognino stated tons of of individuals helped create the artwork at Hulaween. He views use of AI in planning or idea phases as one device in bringing their work to life.

“As a tool, AI is phenomenal. As a medium, AI is unacceptable,” he stated.