DeepSummary
The episode features a conversation with contemporary artist Sarah Sze about the relationship between art and technology, particularly artificial intelligence. Sze discusses her recent installation at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, which aimed to blur the lines between physical and digital. She shares her perspective on AI's potential to enhance and amplify art, rather than replace human creativity.
Sze expresses her openness to AI-generated art inspired by her work, as she believes art should be a conversation that evolves and transforms over time. She acknowledges the challenges around copyright and ownership but argues that the rules will need to adapt as technology advances. The discussion explores the unique value of art in connecting people across time and space.
Throughout the episode, Sze and the hosts examine the dichotomy between the physical and digital worlds, and how different mediums can evoke distinct human experiences. Sze emphasizes the importance of longing and fragility in art, qualities that she believes AI may struggle to capture fully. Ultimately, she sees art and the humanities as essential guides for responsibly harnessing the potential of AI.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- AI is a tool that can enhance and amplify art, but it cannot replace human creativity and the profound connection that art fosters between people across time and cultures.
- The rules and norms around copyright and ownership of art will need to adapt as AI-generated art becomes more prevalent.
- Artists should embrace the potential of AI to expand the boundaries of art, while also recognizing the unique value of traditional mediums in evoking specific human experiences.
- Art serves as a vital guide for responsibly harnessing the power of AI and ensuring its development benefits society.
- The humanities play a crucial role in shaping the ethical application of AI and tempering its potential risks.
- Art is an ongoing experiment and dialogue between the artist and the viewer, with the viewer's experience being an essential component of the work itself.
- Different mediums excel at evoking distinct human experiences, and the digital realm excels at fostering a sense of longing and fragility.
- Sarah Sze's art blurs the boundaries between physical and digital, inviting viewers to question the nature of their experiences and perceptions.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I think that the humanities and the arts only become more important in the light of the development of AI, because AI is a tool, and as a tool, we need the humanities to tame it, to understand how it can actually be a huge benefit to society and not a threat.“ by Sarah Sze
- “So you could make that the subject of your work, I think. But I think that there is a difference between a visual thing, a visual thing, whether it's a painting, an object, digital, I don't care. Anything else under your eyes, music, it could be writing. That makes you have this profound moment where you feel connected to humanity over centuries. And that's a very specific kind of art. That's very specific. It's not saying it doesn't deny other kinds of art or other mediums, but it's a very specific endeavor, and I don't think AI will ever replace that. I just don't.“ by Sarah Sze
- “I mean, that's my favorite comment I could get, really. I think any exhibition is an experiment, an experiment in time and place and with audience, and you spend all this time making it work, and there's this amazing moment. I think all of us have this when we create something and then we introduce it to the public, and you just see it's always an experiment of how they're going to interact, and that's really what makes the work.“ by Sarah Sze
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Episode Information
Possible
Reid Hoffman
12/13/23
How can humanities and the arts flourish as artificial intelligence continues to grow and evolve? Contemporary artist Sarah Sze joins the podcast to talk about the relationship between art and technology. Reid, Aria, and Sarah discuss her recent exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the relationship between the physical and the digital, and the importance of taking art off its pedestal. Plus, Sarah takes a look at AI-generated art inspired by her body of work and offers her thoughts on AI, art, and ownership.
Read the transcript of this episode here.
View AI-generated art in the style of Sarah Sze here.
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all of the episodes, visit www.possible.fm/podcast.
Learn about Sarah’s spring 2023 Guggenheim exhibition, Timelapse, here.
Topics:
Intros and hellos - 4:21
9:28 - Dichotomies: physical vs. digital and chaos vs. order
11:54 - How AI impacts the intrinsic value of objects
14:54 - Does AI democratize art?
16:55 - Can AI exhibit creativity?
24:35 - Sarah reacts to AI-art inspired by her work
29:44 - How AI can enhance an artist’s work
34:56 - How Sarah incorporates the digital into her art
38:47 - What different mediums do best
41:49 - How technology has previously transformed art
44:10 - Where Sarah’s work is headed
48:31 - Rapidfire questions
The award-winning Possible podcast is back with a new season that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future.
This season, hosts Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, are speaking with a new set of ambitious builders and deep thinkers about everything from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion.
Possible is produced by Wonder Media Network and hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Our showrunner is Shaun Young. Possible is produced by Edie Allard, Sara Schleede, and Paloma Moreno Jiménez. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer and Editor. Special thanks to Surya Yalamanchili, Saida Sapieva, Ian Alas, Greg Beato, Ben Relles, Christin Graham, and Little Monster Media Company.