How Scared are You of AI?

“How scared are you of AI?” is a useless question because it is here to stay, and it will learn more. As FDR said in 1933, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". So rather than fear Artificial Intelligence, we need to accept and understand it. Then we can think about how to manage it. Most probably, my Missives have not attracted too many heads of industry, but should there be just one, I do hope that they are studying how to train their staff on how to cope with this seismic change. Microsoft is already doing so.

We do know that change scares everyone, but we usually learn to cope with all the positives and negatives that come with. I keep telling my wife that I have the same frustrations she has with these damn machines,…well, that is what my father called the computer. I tell her to try to enjoy all the advantages that it offers. As an art historian, she needed the 4,000-book art library we brought from New York, but within a few years, much of that information could be found online.

One could write a book on the fear of change in the past, but here is just one example. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. People were immediately scared that it might cause deafness, or even transmit diseases, and with the early party lines, there was great concern about privacy. Even now, privacy is an issue as we resent the unwanted phone calls. That ringing at all hours on the land line may give you a start, as it does me. Increasingly, people abandon landlines for cell phones that can be put on vibrate or set to do not disturb. Have you seen a phone booth lately?!

We welcome the convenience of information provided by Alexa or Siri, but we worry they might be recording our conversations.

All this to say that we need to manage this new-fangled aid known as AI. Much of that needs to be done by the individual, more needs to be done by responsible corporations, and maybe most by government regulation.

One prime example is the fear or actual use of original publications of books and scientific papers. The laws of copyright started in Great Britain as the “Statute of Anne” in 1710. One of the big changes since then has been that copyright has extended for longer than the original 14 years, with possible renewal. Now, over 300 years later, it needs more revision, and that can only be done by the government and laws. It will be more complicated now, and I am not qualified to suggest how it could be done, but only hope that when it is, those regulations are as clear and understandable as possible.

In the field of art, we already have law and case law governing forgery, i.e., copying another artist’s work and claiming it to be by the original artist. The issue of borrowing too much from another’s work, which is covered by copyright law, was addressed in the case of The Warhol Foundation vs. Goldsmith. Andy Warhol created a series of silkscreen prints and pencil illustrations based on a copyrighted 1981 photograph of the musician Prince, taken by Lynn Goldsmith. Warhol made some aesthetic changes to Goldsmith’s original photograph, but they remained “recognizably derived” from the original. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the photographer.

Another positive event for those who fear for the arts; a week ago, the Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal of lower courts’ decisions since 2018 that a work of art created by AI could not be copyrighted because a copyright can only be granted to a work created by a human being.

The advent of each new form of technology has been greeted with fear, be it the telegraph, the telephone, the radio, the television, or the computer. What has changed is the pace. It is all happening so quickly that we feel we don’t have time to catch up. I believe that as we find each new element useful, we will adopt and adapt it as we have before.

Why is Art Necessary?

As an art dealer in New York, I never questioned whether art was necessary. It was our livelihood, and our circle was other dealers, collectors, museum curators, and critics. Of course, art is necessary in those areas, but why is it necessary for people in general? In the past, I have quoted Michael Kimmelman, art and architecture critic for the New York Times, as saying, “Art is never necessary. It is merely indispensable”.

I have written about why I thought art is important, but the word “necessary” has always bothered me. Obviously, we do not need art to physically survive, like air, water, and food. Yet art has, as far as we know, existed since human beings have been on earth. If you have read my Missives over the years, you know many of the fields that are called art, i.e., music, painting, drawing, sculpture, literature, poetry, dance, architecture, theater, and movies. I don’t know people who do not participate in at least one of these areas.

We know that art has existed since the caveman. He used rocks, charcoal, clay, and minerals mixed with water or animal fat to paint the sides of caves with images of animals. Even if you have not visited sites like the Lascaux caves, you have seen prehistoric images of bison, horses, and deer. There are also hunting scenes and handprints made by blowing pigment over a hand pressed against a wall.

Native Americans also created Pictographs 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, and in this image, you can see a wheel.

The earliest three-dimensional example is the Venus of Willendorf, estimated to have been carved out of Paleolithic limestone 25,000-30,000 years ago. The powerful figure is only 4.4 inches high. Some believe it was a symbol of fertility, and others that it had spiritual or ritual meaning. It was discovered in 1908 in an archeological dig near Willendorf, Austria, and can be found today on permanent view at the Natural History Museum in Vienna.

When one mentions art, most people think about a museum or gallery, but not of their own environment. You can’t help but see murals on a wall or in a tunnel as you pass by. If you live in a house, you make judgments based on artistic values, i.e., building materials, color, and layout. Which house is more pleasing, the calming retreat or the breathtaking standout from all the other buildings around?

Architects often pride themselves on being different, and their clients want a distinctive appearance or feel. If you go to Tehran, you can not help but gaze in awe at this architectural marvel, the stunning Azadi Tower in Tehran, designed by Persian architect Hossein Amanat and completed in 1971 to celebrate the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire.

It is the same with music; we all have our own taste, but music of one sort or another appeals to everyone. We just attended an American folk/bluegrass Okee Dokee Brothers’ concert. There were children from toddlers to pre-teens filling the aisles of the theater, dancing and bouncing with the rhythms. It was not only cathartic for the kids but also for the adults. We were so happy that we went.

Graphic art in the form of cartoons mocking prominent figures became popular in Great Britain in the 18th century and is still used today to illustrate a serious message in a humorous manner.

Art has always played a large role in religion. Over centuries, the Catholic Church commissioned dramatic paintings and sculptures to convey the message of the Faith to a primarily illiterate populace. Even if you do not consider yourself religious or an art fan, if you get to visit the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, you will stand in awe of Michelangelo’s ceiling and Last Judgement.

A television show can offer a form of escape or affect how we think. To survive the turmoil in the world, we need to be able to get away from it all, and if it is not a museum or a gallery, it might be a night to go to the theater or stream a movie.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), the German philosopher, said, ““We have art in order not to perish from the truth.” In these times, who can deny it?