Why AI Won’t Be the Next Picasso (Or Even the Next Stephen King)
Why AI Won’t Be the Next Picasso (Or Even the Next Stephen King)
If you think AI can create true art, you might as well believe a photocopier can write poetry.
Ted Chiang argues that AI, despite its impressive capabilities, is fundamentally unsuited to create genuine art. The essence of art lies in the countless choices an artist makes, from word selection in a novel to brushstrokes in a painting — choices that AI cannot replicate.
Chiang explains that while AI can mimic styles and generate content, it does so by averaging or copying existing human choices, resulting in work that is bland and lacks the depth and intention of true art.
He suggests that art’s value comes from the artist’s personal experience and the unique communication between creator and audience — something AI, as a glorified auto-complete tool, cannot achieve. As we increasingly rely on AI, are we losing the human touch that makes art meaningful?
Read the full article on The New Yorker.
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Dr. Mark van Rijmenam
Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is The Digital Speaker, a world-leading futurist and global AI keynote speaker who helps leaders decide what AI, and the technologies that follow it, mean for their business. He speaks to leadership teams at their retreats and to conference audiences worldwide, and his WAVE framework gives them a way of deciding that they keep using long after he has left the room. His Intelligence Age Scorecard measures how ready an organization is across the four WAVE pillars.
He holds a PhD from the University of Technology Sydney, is a Certified Speaking Professional and Global Speaking Fellow, and ranks among the world’s top futurists on the Global Gurus list (#1 in 2025, #3 in 2026). Salesforce named him one of its 16 leading AI voices. He has written six books, most recently Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, writes the Synthetic Minds newsletter on Substack, and founded Futurwise. Talk to his digital twin on WhatsApp: +1 (830) 463-6967.
