Considering AI-Generated Paintings as Artworks in the EU for the Purposes of Museum Exhibitions

The presented article represents an attempt to assess the possibility and perspectives of considering AI-generated works as artworks and objects of museum exhibitions in the European Union. The purpose of the work is to assess whether AI-generated works can be recognized as artwork and if such works can be placed at museums or, on the contrary, if museums are eligible to exhibit and protect works that do not match the definition of the artwork. For the purposes of the article, legal definitions of the artwork and AI are primarily explored to detect possible authorship and legal subjectivity of the artificial intelligence. Accordingly, the next core topic of discussion is the capacity of museums to maintain ai-generated works explored from the perspective of the definition and purpose of museums as institutions. The article contains reasoning and assumptions regarding possible scenarios of the authorship of AI and prognoses about awaited legal challenges in the near future. Not all questions raised by the author are met with unambiguous answers, and they are left open for discussion until further development of legal frameworks and case law acquires a certain direction.