Being Creative with a Non-Human: The Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Art

What does it mean to be creative with generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in producing images in visual art and design? An overview is given of saliant prior work on human creativity, machine creativity, human-machine creativity, technology affordances and ethical issues. The author then reports an autoethnographic study of a seven-month project to produce artworks as part of a group project for an exhibition at a regional gallery, including her experimentation with different ways of using image generative-AI (image-GenAI). Insights from the author’s experiences are combined with relevant prior literature to develop guiding principles for assisting creative endeavours in this context. The set of principles, termed ORCA/E for AI-Art, comprise: (1) Openness to alternative perspectives; (2) Reflection and reflexivity; (3) Common communication framework; (4) Affordance-based design; and (5) Ethical and legal concern. Appropriate mechanisms for the principles are identified. The study responds to calls for research in the field of creative human-AI collaboration, which is a fast-changing and important field. The study contributes by adding to the limited number of first-hand accounts of the use of image-GenAI and by proposing guiding principles that address new ways of working creatively with this technology.