Yes. Who are the puppet masters programing the machines?
One of the unspoken questions is why people come to “the arts” to begin with. Different people, different purposes. Different times ....
It’s one thing to settle down at the end of a day and reach for an easy reading book or turn on a tv seeking escapist entertainment. That’s fine in its place. AI will probably be good at generating content.
The question is whether AI will be able to challenge us, surprise us, teach us, inspire us. That requires an encounter with The Other in a context that has stakes that matter and challenges that begin with recognition, communication, and the development of intersubjective consensus.
The arts are just one of the many domains where this is the heart of the matter. A book is a conversation between the author and his readers. The performing arts are a conversation between the performers and the audience. And within the performance itself, the collaboration between the writers, directors, and actors — or the conductor and musicians in music — is the thing. There are many common expressions of this. One of the most common is the reflection of the writer or director that they never saw or understood the potential of their work until some gifted actors brought it to life. Movie magic happens when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and people are surprised and moved.
Most movies aren’t that good. AI will probably do just fine with the flying spandex comic book films.
Thoughtful post. I’ll re-read it and absorb what I can as it “melts in my mind” as someone once said when I was a college student.