“Painting may seem old school, but it’s a profoundly technological practice. From the tech behind brushes to the mathematics of perspective, artists of all kinds have long placed themselves where science, technology, and art meet…This landscape has proven fertile ground for School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) resident painter Mark Leibert, who for years has turned to algorithms and computational methods to help inspire and refine his work.

Leibert and collaborators from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have gone even further, recruiting a team of student researchers in the Art & AI Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) to explore the artistic implications of AI and the technological implications of art. In fact, they were well ahead of the recent public buzz over artificial intelligence tools, having launched four years ago — before DALL-E and ChatGPT became household names.

In its four years, students in the Art and AI VIP have explored the intersection of the two fields through various projects. In recent years, students have tried using AI to write horror, create moving portraits, animate children’s books, explore new takes on old music, creative interactive, emotion-sensing art, and tools to visualize poetry and music. 

Michelle Lee, an Art & AI VIP member and second-year computer science student from New York, is working on a music visualization program. She said the VIP has allowed her to use her computing knowledge in a creative way that she hopes will help after graduation.

“I hope to bring creativity wherever I go,” Lee said. “I hope to work at a tech company, and I’d really like to bring this kind of creativity to make my work different and unique.”

To learn more about Art & AI: “Exploring Art and AI in Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Media, and Communication,” July 14, 2023