The work “Other Images” introduces the aesthetic dimensions of image synthesis as a discipline and provides both an overview and contextualization of this technology within (visual) culture. It also touches on the questions of what it means to be in the midst of a paradigm shift and how to navigate through an ever-changing media environment.
By now, being the summer of 2023, artificial intelligence technologies are an integral part of our society, recognized both as opportunities for social progress and economic growth, as well as a threat by automating human labour. They are already having a significant impact on many areas, including the creative industries. Media creation, using generative artificial intelligence algorithms, has established a new category of media assets known as synthetic media, which appears to have arrived in most areas of cultural production; from AI-powered software features, such as numerous style transfer or face filters, to generative AI platforms that enable media production through text input for mass audiences. The work “Other Images” deals specifically with AI-generated images, also commonly referred to as generative imagery or (generative) AI art, which represent a radical shift in image production and whose pace of technological development has surprised most observers. It introduces the aesthetic dimensions of image synthesis as a discipline and provides both an overview and contextualization of this technology within (visual) culture, by reflecting on generative imagery through the three research pillars: thinking & writing, sharing & discussing, and practising & exploring. This project explores the phenomenon through a collection of scientific essays, an academic course syllabus, suggested readings, as well as artistic experiments and commentaries. Intended to be treated as a dossier that allows for different levels of engagement with (generative) AI, each contribution can either be viewed as an independent work, considered in relation to other parts, or experienced together as a whole body of work.
Supervised by:
Prof. Dr. Lasse Scherffig, Interaction Design
Prof. Nina Juric, Image & Motion
