AI & Sacred Art – Two Opinions
Will AI (artificial intelligence) have a detrimental effect on the sacred art that we see in churches and homes?
David Clayton, The Way Of Beauty
I don’t believe that it is possible for AI to create art that is of the right quality, no matter how good the technology is because authentic sacred art relies on inspiration from God for its originality. AI is not open to the promptings of grace as human beings, who possess an immortal soul, are. While God is omnipotent and might, in principle, miraculously influence an AI process, I see this as unlikely!
One of the reasons for the decline in art in the last 200 years, in my opinion, is that people have forgotten the importance of the supernatural in creating beauty.
AI relies on replacing natural human faculties, albeit in a powerful way. This is highly speculative, but this might mean that it could be good at generating better art in the inferior styles that emerged during this latter period.
Every tradition must reinvent itself anew with each generation in order to be vital and to sustain itself. The assumption in the past was always that unless the artist is open to God’s grace, he will be imitating only what past artists have done in the past, to some degree or other, and the quality of the art will decline. So even beautiful work in precisely the style of the past will not resonate with large audiences today.
Kevin Kang, Coloring Kitchen
As technology advances, the nature of creation evolves. Art, in its most basic form, is about evoking emotions, stimulating thoughts, and admiring beauty. Whether a piece is handcrafted by humans or generated by algorithms, its value lies in its ability to resonate with viewers.
The development of AI as a tool for artistic creation isn’t the end of human creativity but an invitation to expand it. It’s an invitation for artists to explore new perspectives and for audiences to challenge their perceptions.
The true value of art lies in its power to stir human emotions; the focus ought to be on the artwork itself, not on its origin. We should welcome, not resist, the tools that augment our creativity. In the future we may see more collaborations between human artists and AI, by doing so, we probably can unlock new forms of art that continue to inspire and awaken our shared human spirit.
