AI + The Arts: Just A Tool?

The Glen Arbor Arts Center celebrates human handwork in a time of machine dominance in its By Hand project. On May 4, the GAAC will host a panel discussion of generative artificial intelligence, and its incursion into the arts. Visual artists Randy Melick, Tim Nielsen, Rufus Snoddy, and writer Bob Butz will talk about the role of AI in their work. The discussion begins at 1 pm and is facilitated by Anne Stanton, National Writers Series executive director, and Sarah Bearup-Neal, GAAC gallery manager.

It is often asserted that AI is just a tool. In the May 4 discussion, the panel will explore a range of questions including their experience with AI, and weigh in on whether or not it’s a benign “tool.” Is AI art “art”? How does AI change the way we understand the visual and literary arts? What purpose does AI serve in the arts? What’s the purpose of turning over human creative work to a machine? What are the harms? Melick and Snoddy are both visual art instructors at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. Nielsen, former president of Nielsen Design Group, Traverse City, and is a studio practitioner. Butz worked for 20 years as a freelance writer. He is now the Senior Creative Copywriter and Creative Strategist for the Wisconsin-based Vortex Optics.

This By Hand program is free. The GAAC is located at 6031 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. The By Hand project runs March 29 – May 30, and is comprised of a series of visual art exhibitions and community conversations.

The Glen Arbor Arts Center Exhibitions Program enjoys the generous support of the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Amy L. Clark-Carels Family Fund, the Barbara and Victor Klein Fund,  Image 360, Northwoods Hardware, Saxon Design and the Leelanau Enterprise.

The BY HAND project is funded in part by Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The GAAC is the recipient of a Michigan Humanities Bridging Michigan grant.