ARTHIST254A

What does art have to say about AI? How do East Asian and diasporic artists integrate AI into their work? Can we tell a creative story using AI? This course investigates AI's social and cultural implications. Artists experiment with AI, VR, and AR technologies to reimagine the future of humanity. Some critique digital capitalism, while others collaborate with AI systems. Artists from East Asia use AI to reinterpret traditional aesthetics, address social bias, and challenge the boundaries between human and machine, natural and artificial, real and virtual. Through case studies, field trips, hands-on experiments, and in-depth discussions, students will develop a holistic approach to AI through the lens of art. Drawing on posthumanism theories, media aesthetics, ecocriticism, as well as East Asian philosophies, students examine how algorithms change perceptions of bodies and identities. We will explore concepts of agency, authenticity, emotion, experience, and free will. Group projects will also provide opportunities to design solutions to real-world challenges such as copyright, privacy, and racial bias.