‘Algorithmic Frontiers’ Explores the Collision of Art and Algorithms

Algorithmic Frontiers is an interactive digital art exhibit by Valentine Goddard that explores the intersection of AI-generated art and controversial issues such as cultural expression, artists' rights, and gender bias. The exhibit features 12 pieces of AI-generated and AI-assisted art that are commentary on the very medium itself.

The data used to generate the artwork was contributed by womenwomxn from over 40 countries. Contributors built the training dataset, which was a collection of words given just three broad prompts: "Woman," "Beauty," and "Imperfection." This resulted in AI-generated art that explores themes such as objectification, gender inequity, artists' rights, and cultural expression.

One artwork, "Selfie," mixes analog film with algorithmic variations to explore the objectification of women by AI. Another piece, "Speak," combines watercolor with RunwayML-generated video to explore gender inequity in AI systems. A third piece, "Peace & Doves," uses a generative AI tool trained on Goddard's oeuvre and then prompted to create something à la Picasso, sparking a conversation about artists' rights.

The exhibit also features a RAG (a chatbot) trained not on a massive dataset scraped from the web but rather a set of policy documents and artworks provided by Goddard. It also includes a discussion board to facilitate conversations about the topics discussed in the art pieces.

Algorithmic Frontiers is part of the 2023 Creative Media Awards cohort exploring AI and responsible design. The project investigates the morphing definition of art in an era of generative AI, explores fair, equitable, and sustainable uses of the technology, but also the ways it can threaten culture, diverse expression, and the foundations of democracy itself.

Valentine Goddard is an artist and AI-expert based in Montréal, KANIEN’KÉHA. The petition launched by Goddard calls for artist representation and equity in the generative AI space. It lists eight high-level guidelines and has already garnered more than 2,000 signatures from artists, technologists, and others.