GP essay question guide
Can work made by machines be called art?
Start with a definition of art you can defend, then apply it. The strongest answers separate a person using a machine as a tool from a machine producing images on request.
Unpack this question first: 'Art' is the concept to unpack: decide whether it needs human intention, skill or an audience's response. 'Made by machines' ranges from a tool a person controls to a machine working alone. Lesson: Abstract and values questions
Use this question in writing - Sign in, check the question, then write your response.
Topics: Arts and Humanities, Science and Technology, Economics
Three argument directions
Tools have always shaped art
Photography and digital design were once doubted and are now accepted as art.
Qualification: A camera does not compose images by itself, which an AI model can.
Art needs intention
If art is an attempt to communicate, output with no human idea behind it is decoration.
Qualification: Viewers can be moved by a work without knowing how it was made.
Fairness to artists
Models trained on artists' work without permission raise questions of credit and pay.
Qualification: This is a question of fairness, not of whether the result counts as art.
A model paragraph
Our own paragraph for this question. Copy its moves, not its words.
Work made by machines can be called art when a person uses the machine to express an idea, but not when the machine simply produces images on request. Art has long used tools. A photographer chooses a moment and a frame, and few people now deny that photography is art. A designer who spends weeks refining instructions and editing results to make a point is using an AI model in a similar way. Yet much machine output involves no intention at all: someone types a few words and keeps whatever looks pleasing. If art is a person's attempt to communicate, that output is decoration, however striking. There is also a question of fairness, because many models were trained on artists' work without permission or payment. The label 'art' should follow the human choices behind a work, not the tool used to make it.
How it is built
- Definition: art as a person's attempt to communicate.
- Cases: photography as an accepted tool; a prompt with no idea behind it.
- Judgement: the label follows human choices, with fairness noted as a separate issue.
Six examples to compare
AI Art: Creative Ally or Human Rival?
Explores AI's role in art, music, and writing. Is it a creative partner or a job threat to human artists?
Possible essay use
In August 2022 Jason Allen's Midjourney-generated image won first place in the Colorado State Fair's emerging digital artists category.
Limitation
One prize in one category of a state fair says little about AI art in general, and Allen's lawsuit had not been decided when this record was checked, so the legal answer may change.
Case or source date: 2022-08-29
Source: The New York Times
Generative AI: Reshaping Jobs, Art, and Truth
Generative AI tools are changing work and creativity, but also risk spreading false information. This impacts jobs, art, and our sense of truth.
Possible essay use
A UBS study reported in February 2023 estimated ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly users in January 2023, about two months after launch.
Limitation
User numbers are company or analyst estimates, and many users try a tool without relying on it; adoption does not show whether the tools improve productivity or accuracy.
Case or source date: 2023-02-02
Source: Reuters (via Inquirer)
EU AI Code Adds Copyright and Training-Data Transparency Duties
The EU General-Purpose AI Code of Practice includes copyright-policy and training-content transparency measures for participating model providers.
Possible essay use
The EU General-Purpose AI Code of Practice includes copyright-policy and training-content transparency measures for participating model providers.
Limitation
A voluntary code can clarify compliance but participation, enforcement, and fair compensation remain contested.
Case or source date: 2025-08-01
Source: European Commission
NFTs: Digital Art's New Frontier?
NFTs are reshaping the art world, offering new artist opportunities and sparking debates on value and ownership.
Possible essay use
On 11 March 2021 Beeple's NFT artwork sold for US$69.3 million at Christie's.
Limitation
NFT prices and volumes are volatile and partly driven by crypto speculation, and some trading is between linked wallets, so totals overstate genuine art buying.
Case or source date: 2021-03-11
Source: The Art Newspaper
VR/AR: Art's New Canvas, Audience's New World
Immersive tech like VR and AR reshapes art creation and how audiences experience it, offering new ways to engage.
Possible essay use
From 12 to 26 March 2020 KAWS and Acute Art showed AR versions of COMPANION at 12 locations on six continents through a phone app.
Limitation
Viewing needed a smartphone and the app, so 'accessible' art still depended on owning the right device; one project does not show how widely AR art is adopted.
Case or source date: 2020-03-12
Source: designboom
Digital Platforms: Remaking Creative Worlds
Digital platforms like Spotify and Netflix are changing how we create and consume music, film, and books, affecting artists' pay and what content we discover.
Possible essay use
Spotify reports paying more than US$9 billion to the music industry in 2023 and more than US$10 billion in 2024.
Limitation
The payout figures come from Spotify's own report; they count money paid to rights holders, not what reaches artists after label and publisher deals.
Case or source date: 2025-03-12
Source: Music Week