What could a break point of daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of

unchanging truth for the Colson Center on John Stone Street?

Back in September, the first prize at the annual Colorado State Fair Art Competition

went to a submission that was entitled Teatro de Pera Spesiao, or something like that.

The painting was submitted by Jason Miller and depicted an ornate stage in costume performers

washed in beautiful golden light. Miller, however, didn't paint the image. What he did was

type in a few prompts on a search bar and an artificially intelligent art generator

program called Mid-Journey did the rest. When Alan won, Outrage ensued, but Alan defended

his decision to submit the painting he did not paint, arguing that his intent was not

to deceive but to draw attention to the potential of artificial intelligence.

I won, Alan said, and I didn't break any rules.

This is just another example of how artificial intelligence is raising questions about

the nature and purpose of things and how all of it relates to our humanity. What is art

in a world where artificial intelligence not only can replicate any image but can produce

original images with superior skill and precision? Is art, at least as we've always known

it, finished now that the creative skills that once took a lifetime to master or reduced

to a keystroke, what will incentivize promising young artists to develop these skills? Well,

the painting becomes something pursued only by a few people as a kind of leisure activity.

Art is a way of expressing meaning. That's why it's always been a uniquely human activity.

After all, only humans seek meaning out of life rather than just survival like the rest

of the animals. And in addition to the beauty and skill involved in creating art, we tend

to value the pursuit of meaning that we see in the creative work of others.

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