The Work of Art in the Age of Automated Creativity: On the autonomy of AI art

This paper explores the evolving notion of aesthetic autonomy in the context of AI-generated art, proposing three central arguments. First, it revisits Nicholas Brown’s theory of artistic autonomy, suggesting that AI art can achieve a form of autonomy through the interaction of structured prompts and neural network processes, without necessitating direct human intention. Second, it introduces a framework viewing AI-generated artworks as “epistemic consumption objects,” whose unpredictability introduces new aesthetic dimensions that operate independently of conventional commodity relations. Third, the paper discusses a novel approach to collective interpretation of AI art, drawing comparisons with the Surrealist tradition and suggesting that AI may function as an “alien unconscious” fostering unique interpretative opportunities. Through analysis of works generated by DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, this study argues that AI art contributes to a renewed understanding of artistic intention and autonomy, encouraging a reassessment of these concepts within contemporary digital culture.