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A . I . Generate Art - A Classroom Discussion
Lately , there has been a rising involvement of artificial intelligence within our nation . The topic has been consistently in the news daily for the last few months . A . I . is also very readily available for anyone to use . At the Bellefonte Area Middle School , the art classes incorporated it into one of their lessons . They had a great opportunity to complete an interdisciplinary lesson that involved art , technology , and literature !
Mrs . Megan Shirey , a reading specialist teacher , shared with Mrs . Nicole Tucker , an art teacher , a New York Times article about Artificial Intelligence and the controversy surrounding it within the art world - “ A . I . Generated Art Won a Prize . Artists Aren ’ t Happy ” written by Kevin Roose . Next , Mr . Brian Kresley , the middle school technology teacher , had a discussion on a Canva application called the " Text to See App ," where students can type what they want to see and literally watch it come to life . This sparked an opportunity to create an interdisciplinary lesson . Mrs . Tucker ’ s students read the article together . She asked her students , “ Should pictures created with A . I . be considered art ? Is it equal to what an artist creates with a pen , a brush , or clay ? What is your reaction to Mr . Allen ' s art - do you think he is cheating ?” Students reflected upon these questions and had very strong opinions , agreeing and disagreeing that A . I . generated art is considered “ real art .” Some of their responses included ( identities have been kept semi-anonymous ):
“ I believe Mr . Allen ’ s artwork is prize-worthy … Mr . Allen still has to be creative in order to figure out the exact words he needs to create the masterpiece he envisioned . I think in the future , art competitions should clarify whether or not A . I . art is allowed …” - R . H .
“ Yes , A . I . art is art because they are still something drafted with the imagination , even if it was put on paper using a computer … Mr . Allen ’ s art is beautiful , but because it was created by repurposing images from others , it did not deserve to win … I believe that traditional art forms are still superior , but A . I . art should be used for fun .” - E . R .
“ A . I . generated pictures are art , but not in the same way as a painting , sketch , etc . I think Mr . Allen shouldn ' t have won the contest … I don ' t think that it ' s equal to what an artist might create with a brush , pen , or clay … When using an A . I . generator , all someone has to do is type a couple of words and they don ’ t even have to put in a lot of thought .” - C . B .
After reading the article , students were given the opportunity to create their own A . I . generated art using the Canva application . This lesson provided a great opportunity for students to learn about the progress of Artificial Intelligence within the art realm and have a serious discussion on what is considered “ art ." It was a great way to incorporate literature , art , and technology all into one learning experience .
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