ARE AI & CREATIVITY mutually exclusive?

In experimenting with AI in my art, I have come to understand that making AI deliver the results that align with my vision, requires a process of refinement and iteration that can be very time consuming and at times frustrating. It’s about engaging in a deep, collaborative process with the AI, trying to coax it to deliver individual elements that I then combine into a cohesive frame. The results are an expression of AI in creative hands, a harmonious blend of algorithmic efficiency and human inspiration.

With it comes the realization that AI can be more than just an assistant; it can be a co-creator. This process lays bare some profound questions about the role of the artist in the age of AI. Does relying on AI diminish the creative achievement? I believe that in some ways it does, in others it does not. Instead, it challenges us to redefine what creativity means in the modern era. It’s about steering the AI, guiding it to realize a vision conjured by human imagination. As we move forward, the ethical and moral implications of AI in art remain a topic of intense debate. My stance is that AI should be viewed as a new brush in an artist’s palette, a new lens through which we can view and interpret the world. The key is to maintain the artist’s intent and vision at the forefront, using AI as a means to an end, not the end itself. In a way, the AI-generated generated images are not just a piece of art; they’re a statement about the future of creativity. It’s a demonstration of how artists can harness AI to leapfrog their own limitations and push the boundaries of what’s possible, blending traditional artistic intuition with revolutionary technology.
The following images are a work in progress – my curious embrace of ai and creativity.

Or, the elephant in the room…

A COLD, COLD WAR

An experiment with Generative AI in motion. Concept, story, and prompts by Urs Baur. Images generated in DreamStudio.ai and MidJourney, animation in Runway Gen2, voices in Elevenlabs.io, sound effects in StableAudio.com.

Exploring the SUREAL with AI

At the moment many are probing how closely this Generative AI can mimic our reality, or how we capture or conjure it on film or video – however, it is plausible that AI's most profound impact will emerge from its ability to manifest alternate realities that transcend the boundaries of our conventional understanding of ‘reality’ and creativity. For the moment I find it endlessly fascinating and highly immersive when the collaboration with the AI gets into a state of flow, and the images that ‘develop’ exceed the imagined.

An experiment with Generative AI in images. Concept, story, and prompts by Urs Baur. Images generated in DreamStudio.ai and MidJourney.

LOST BOYS

I imagine the Lost Boys to be a collection of portraits. Young creative lads in 80’s London.

An experiment with Generative AI in motion. Concept, story, and prompts by Urs Baur. Images generated in DreamStudio.ai and MidJourney, animation in Runway Gen2, voices in Elevenlabs.io, sound effects in StableAudio.com