The Work of Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: What Artists Can Teach Us About the Ethics of Data Practice

Abstract

Problematic use of data, patterns of bias emerging in AI systems, and the role of platforms like Facebook and Twitter during elections have thrown the issue of data ethics into sharp relief. Yet the focus of conversations about data ethics has centered on computer scientists, engineers, and designers, with far less attention paid to the digital practices of artists and others in the cultural sector. Artists have historically deployed new technologies in unexpected and often prescient ways, making them a community able to speak directly to the changing and nuanced ethical questions faced by those who use data and machine learning systems. We conducted interviews with thirty-three artists working with digital data, with a focus on how artists prefigure and commonly challenge data practices and ethical concerns of computer scientists, researchers, and the wider population. We found artists were frequently working to produce a sense of defamiliarization and critical distance from contemporary digital technologies in their audiences. The ethics of using large-scale data and AI systems for these artists were generally developed in ongoing conversations with other practitioners in their communities and in relation to a longer history of art practice.

Becoming intimate with algorithms: Towards a critical antagonism via algorithmic art

“…The relevance of artistic practices considering digital technologies has been shown to be a productive entry point to understand relations to economies, as well as for "the visualization of unknown futures" (Amoore, 2009: 16). Stark and Crawford (2019) note that digital media artists play a crucial role in ethically challenging digital systems and algorithmic decisionmaking. The authors conclude that what is commonly at the heart of artistic practice is a form of "defamiliarizing of data" (Stark and Crawford, 2019: 445).…”

“…Stark and Crawford (2019) note that digital media artists play a crucial role in ethically challenging digital systems and algorithmic decision-making. The authors conclude that what is commonly at the heart of artistic practice is a form of “defamiliarizing of data” (Stark and Crawford, 2019: 445). Artistic practice thus functions as a critical distance, an alienating moment to overcome the habitual (Chun, 2017) and convenient use of digital media technologies.…”

Desarrollo de imágenes en línea: de las huellas visuales a las voces públicas

“…On the other hand, approaches intersecting critical studies and art practices with creative engineering or journalistic activism are largely exposing what bulk-images serve in the -often non-mimetic-computational domains of algorithmic classification, prediction, and control. To the fore of rendering visible and affective, often to the greater public, the issues sparked by computational technologies (Stark & Crawford, 2019), an ever-growing repertoire of visual tactics (i.e. speculative diagrams, critical interfaces, adversarial and glitching experiments) are trying to reveal their ethical, social, environmental, or political implications.8…”

Broadening AI Ethics Narratives: An Indic Art View

“…Scholars posit that the field of arts has the potential to transcend the limitations and distortions of dominant ethical paradigms derived from the sciences and economics by being able to showcase plurality of values, by elucidating procedures as opposed to just outcomes, and by emphasizing the role of participatory design [60]. Researchers argue that artists have historically deployed new technologies in unexpected and often prescient ways [53] and have been interpreted as vanguards: of new ideas, techniques, and cultural practices [14,58]. Furthermore, the authors in [58] argue that artists engaging with data analytic tools and computational techniques can share their opinions on the changing and nuanced ethical questions faced by those who use data and AI algorithms in their work.…”

“…Researchers argue that artists have historically deployed new technologies in unexpected and often prescient ways [53] and have been interpreted as vanguards: of new ideas, techniques, and cultural practices [14,58]. Furthermore, the authors in [58] argue that artists engaging with data analytic tools and computational techniques can share their opinions on the changing and nuanced ethical questions faced by those who use data and AI algorithms in their work. For instance, American artist Rashaad Newsome tells stories of racial injustice through the lens of colonialism to highlight existing shortcomings of AI models [28].…”