AI and the Artworld: Art History and the Generative Imagination

With artists like Pindar van Arman using agentic AI while Holly Herndon and Sasha Stiles forge transmedia human / technological collaborations, is it time to move away from definitions of creativity that are rooted in the human experience? How might we approach AI God, for example, which was painted by humanoid robot Ai Da, and sold for over one million dollars at Sotheby’s? What frameworks, then, can help us critically approach AI art?

This is a state-of-the-field session that considers computer generated visual culture in the broadest sense, but we have a particular interest in methodological issues. Can we establish new criteria for critique in a world of obscure datasets, unpublished algorithms and blockchain initiatives? Can we find solutions for methodological and provenance issues? We encourage papers that examine algorithmic justice, copyright issues, potential risks, biases, and backlashes presented by AI entering the artworld. Gender disparities, ethnic and racial prejudices are well documented and there is a need to consider questions around cultural appropriateness and representations. Whose aesthetics are being represented, and who is forming the canon? Might AI act as another form of colonialism?

We also invite provocations around collaborating with AI, especially around training and development processes, to ensure rights are considered as fairer AI ecosystems are built. Can we use AI as a tool to reclaim power, support marginalised voices, and address structural biases in the artworld?

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Lorna Dillon, Hong Kong Babtist University, lornadillon@protonmail.com

Melody (Zixuan) Wang, University of Edinburgh, Melody.Wang@ed.ac.uk