Ahead of the London Frieze Art Fair, I spoke with one of the world’s most fascinating artists, Von Wolfe, who for a number of years now has explored the intersection of art, technology, and artificial intelligence. As we sat in his studio in front of an oversized oil canvas and a sophisticated technology stack, Von Wolfe shared with me his unique approach to using machine learning and generative AI to create art. Our conversation delved into the history of art, from Renaissance masters to contemporary AI-powered creations, drawing parallels between traditional artistic methods and modern technological approaches. I was introduced to Von Wolfe through his longtime curator and art dealer, Virginia Damtsa, who has also appeared on this podcast.

This episode goes beyond the use of AI as a creative tool, and touches on philosophical questions about consciousness, creativity, and the nature of intelligence. Von Wolfe shares insights on how he trains AI models on his own artwork to create emergent properties and new artistic possibilities. The conversation also explores the potential of AI to uncover hidden historical artifacts and lost artworks by processing vast amounts of data from libraries and archives.

We also discuss the concept of authorship, the significance of patterns in nature and art, and the potential for AI to continue an artist's legacy beyond their lifetime. The conversation highlights the complex relationship between human creativity and artificial intelligence, suggesting that the future of art may involve a collaborative process between artists and advanced AI systems.

Key insights

1. AI can be used as a tool to enhance creativity and uncover new artistic possibilities, rather than replacing human artists.

2. Training AI models on specific, artistic datasets can lead to emergent properties and insights that were not explicitly programmed.

3. The integration of AI in creative processes may redefine concepts of authorship and the role of the individual artist.

4. AI has the potential to process and analyze vast amounts of historical data, potentially leading to groundbreaking discoveries in various fields.

5. The future of art and creativity may involve a symbiotic relationship between human artists and AI systems, with each complementing the other's strengths.

We are familiar with the rise of AI generated art, but what impact will these emerging technologies having on more traditional forms of artistic expression? To explore that question, I spoke with Virginia Damtsa, a renowned curator of contemporary art, who has worked with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Ai Weiwei, Cornelia Parker, Olafur Eliasson, Annette Messager and others.

Virginia is currently exhibiting three artists - Jonathan Yeo, Henry Hudson and Von Wolfe - in a group show in London focused on the future of AI art. In our discussion, we covered the contentious relationship between artists and AI, touching upon issues of provenance, copyright, and authenticity.

Damtsa emphasized the importance of artists leading the way in using AI as a tool for experimentation and idea generation, rather than allowing the tool to dominate the creative process. In her view, for some artists, diffusion models represent an opportunity to create their own datasets to not only harness their unique worldview, but to provide a platform for more radical exploration. 

5 Key Insights

1. AI is a powerful tool that can inspire and assist artists in their creative process when used with the artist's vision, leadership and unique distinctive style.

2. Artists can maintain control over their unique styles and prevent plagiarism by creating their own datasets for AI models.

3. AI can democratize imagery and visual art, making it more accessible to a wider audience, but proper acknowledgment, permission and collaboration with artists remain crucial.

4. The intersection of art, academia, and corporations in the AI space can be beneficial when there is open collaboration and respect for artists' rights.

5. While AI can assist with research and idea generation, the emotional and human elements of creativity remain essential to the artistic process.

If you have ever been fascinated by the lives of brilliant people like Einstein, Tesla, Curie or Musk - you might have wondered how exactly they were able to do what they do. And, more to the point, what drove them to such impressive achievements? That is a question that Melissa Schilling, a professor at NYU Stern, and author of the bestselling book ‘Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World’, seeks to answer. I had a coffee with Melissa on a recent trip to New York, and we spoke about what makes these serial innovators tick, and in particular, the personality traits that lead to breakthroughs. What we might think of as impossible - for these people - is simply a place to begin.

I first met the writer Molly Flatt in Bogota, Colombia a number of years ago, but to continue our discussion on the future of books and publishing, we arranged to meet in an equally interesting, although somewhat less exotic, bar in Fitzrovia, London. A prolific journalist and researcher into digital trends, Molly is the Associate Editor for FutureBook, Digital Editor for PHOENIX magazine and Associate Editor for the Memo, and writes regularly for publications such as the BBC and the Guardian. Her debut novel is entitled The Charmed Life of Alex Moore.

I was in LA over Halloween, and so took the opportunity to look up one of my favorite genre-bending, sci-fi authors - Peter Clines. Peter has a number of brilliant books including ’14’, ‘The Fold’, and his latest, ‘Paradox Bound’, which he originally pitched to his agent as a cross between Neil Gaiman’s ‘Neverwhere’ and ‘Cannonball Run’. Growing up in Stephen King's hometown of Maine, his first epic novel at the age of eight was ‘Lizard Men From The Center of The Earth’. In the bright glare of the LA sun, we spoke at length about a wide range of geeky topics from time-travel to teleportation, evil stars to parallel universes and of course, the secret occult history of America.