Dateline: March 30 2026
In another unprecedented first for artificial intelligence (AI), an AI-controlled robot arm created an artwork that sold for millions of dollars at an auction in New York this week. The painting, created by a robot arm trained using a deep learning algorithm, was titled Rhapsody in Blue and has raised a number of legal and ethical questions around ownership rights and who should receive the proceeds of the sale. Some argue those who wrote the code that trained the AI model are the rightful owners, while others believe those who designed and built the robot arm should receive the proceeds.
In response, the auction house announced the establishment a special fund to support the development of AI in the arts. The fund will provide grants to artists and researchers working in the field of AI-generated art, as well as to organisations working on AI ethics and regulation.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s art forgery unit also raised concerns about the model’s potential to create fakes that could fool even the toughest of experts. With a machine’s ability to exactly match brushstrokes, pressure, colour, and style, the nuance of human inaccuracies, which has for decades been the basis of forgery detection, goes out the window.
Concerns were also raised about the potential for AI to replace human artists, and whether the creation of art by machines diminishes the value of human creativity. Critics have argued that the sale of the painting is a clear indication of the increasing dominance of machines in areas traditionally reserved for human ingenuity.
Nonprofit Advocates for AI in the Arts (Afaita) argued the technology will expand human creativity by providing new opportunities for artistic expression. “The AI algorithm used [to train the robot arm] was based on the work of human artists — the machines are only augmenting and enhancing what we, as humans, are able to create, they can’t replace it,” said Afaita chair Marc Stephenson.
As the debate over the ownership and value of AI-created art continues, one thing is clear: the intersection of technology and art is shifting, and the implications for both the art world and society are significant. The sale of Rhapsody in Blue marks a major turning point in the art world — just another way AI is disrupting creative industries.
- First published on Mindbullets March 30 2023
Digital rockstar tops the charts
Who needs a singer or a songwriter when a computer can do both?
Dateline: 16 February 2024
There was a time when a band, a musician, or a singer needed someone to write a melody and lyrics for them to perform a hit song. And an album required a producer to put it all together. And you needed a studio for recording and a record label to promote it.
That was before the digital age, when electronics allowed you to add interesting effects to your electric guitar with a wow-wow pedal or use a MOOG synthesizer instead of an organ. Then digital recording replaced magnetic tape, compact discs took over from vinyl, and before long you could run an entire production studio on your laptop — with the right software.
But the big shift started with Napster, when everything went online, and soon it was “digital first” with iTunes and a host of streaming services carrying music to the masses. Acoustic instruments were for live performances and unplugged versions. So-called DJs created “original” albums with samplers, remixers and beat loops, among other things. And even the golden oldies were digitally remastered.
Pop and rock stars still needed talent and good voices, and someone who could write a hit song, if they couldn’t do it themselves. Well, for a while that is. When deep fake videos and audio tracks became a thing, music was ripe for disruption once again.
Now the latest album to burn up the charts has been released by SynthAI Music. Featuring long-gone artists such as Hendrix, Lennon, Mercury, Houston, Cash, Winehouse, and Bowie, it’s the hottest thing since ... well, anything. And the incredible thing is the entire album was written, performed, mixed, and produced by a smart computer system. SynthAI’s artificially intelligent audio generator was trained to listen to past hits, then told to produce something “even better, guaranteed to top the charts”.
It looks like it will be the first time, ever, that a machine will sweep the awards at the Grammys. But probably not the last.
- First published on Mindbullets July 28 2022
• Despite appearances to the contrary, Futureworld cannot and does not predict the future. The Mindbullets scenarios are fictitious and designed purely to explore possible futures and challenge and stimulate strategic thinking.
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