Turning to AI for inspiration

The curating team noted that AARON is considered the world's first AI system designed specifically for artistic creation, and this piece is currently the only known artwork independently signed by the system.

With AI agents guiding the tour, the exhibition invites visitors to rethink the rules of existence in the AI era. The academic co-chairs point out that in the age of AI, when machines have taken over almost all the "doing", irreplaceable human capacity should ask questions, solve problems with people, and exercise their brains as muscles to prevent cognitive atrophy.

"Humans and AI will find a way to coexist peacefully and harmoniously. In today's world, creativity requires something rare and unique," says Nian Zixuan, the exhibition's lead curator.

Luo Cheng, a 37-year-old director, curator and artist, has created hundreds of visual AI works since 2022. Born into an artistic family, Luo also stresses the "rareness and uniqueness" of human art creation.

In Luo's view, what AI produces is "high-quality, average content", which means it can efficiently learn and execute the existing rules. Looking ahead, he believes human artists with unique artistic expressions never seen before will remain invaluable.

"With the advent of AI, when production becomes limitless, and people no longer need to worry about production efficiency, art may bring us back to the meaning of human existence. That is, I create and share purely because it makes me and others happy. That would also be a wonderful state," says Luo.

Lu Xiaoxu, a 46-year-old AIGC artist and founder of Xiaoxu Music, has been actively embracing AI to unlock new career trajectories.

After making music for about two decades, Lu learned about the AI music-generation platform Suno in early 2024 and quickly predicted the trend of industrial transformation. His team delved into AI music production that May, and has gradually expanded its footprint from music to video generation, creating AI singers, and beyond. Their AI-generated works have garnered over 200 million streams and views over the past five months.

"The AI tools for music creation have been evolving quickly. Sometimes, you can barely discern them from human artists. Currently, a vast majority of human musicians are using AI to assist in their creations," says Lu.

Today, Lu's team has created a dozen digital singers, many of which have gained extensive social media popularity. Lu has also seen rapidly increasing acceptance and recognition of AI music from the wider public, who are not ashamed to write genuine comments on AI-generated songs and videos.

"AI is working well in creating music with existing styles, but human aesthetic sensibility is still required to make judgments and selections among the generated results. It's still challenging for AI to generate unique creations, such as folk music, intangible cultural heritage and mixing styles," says Lu.

Lu is now exploring more possibilities with AI in a wide range of new sectors, such as AI music education, as well as live performances and talent shows.

For Guo Wanyu, 30, whose painting featuring irises burst onto the scene in May, AI is also a helpful "assistant". Now running a small OPC (one-person company), Guo says that AI offers new perspectives and inspiration, and has also helped create derivatives of her artworks, such as merchandise and digital collectibles.

"Digital collectibles can make artworks more accessible to the public. I don't think artists should shy away from AI; it is a tool that can bring our work to fruition," says Guo.

Drawing since she was 9, Guo is the soul of her artwork. She believes that human artists will always have their own core competitive advantages and indispensable skills.

"Technology will continue to evolve and times will change. What will truly endure is the sincerity and aesthetic sensibility within the artwork, as well as the connections formed between people," she adds.