“AI Is Here To Stay, But Artists Won’t Be Extinct” – YSMA Director

Director, Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA), Dr Jesse Castellote, said Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay.

Castellote made the case for the arts & AI during the ‘Dreams And Flourishes: Arts As Change Driver’ virtual session organized by Nextier Founder, Patrick O. Okigbo III.

Castellote words is one that has been a source of anxiety and fear for creatives around the world.
However, the architect and Nigerian visual arts connoisseur, said there’s no cause for alarm as artists would not go extinct with the coming of AI.

He believes AI will have its challenges but will eventually evolve with its usage in the arts discipline, just as photography did.

Said Jesse: “Nobody thought of photography as an art form, rather a tool for documentation. It took decades before it was considered an art form. Same way I don’t see a problem in artistes using AI as a tool. In fact, I am not afraid if artists decide to switch completely from physical to digital brushes.

“This is because it is not the tool (camera or AI) that takes a photograph. It is the photographer. A good photographer can take the best pictures with a $300 camera, whilst a bad photographer cannot take good pictures even if he uses a $2000 camera.

He said same goes with AI.

“AI can create images, but I doubt it alone can create something valuable in the way it’ll be done by an artist. It cannot create in the unique quality and style of a particular artist (without the artist guiding it to do so).

“However, if used as a tool, it allows artist to create good things,” said Castellote.