1 00:00:03,700 --> 00:00:05,800 Greetings. My name is Pastor Miguel 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,070 Gonzalez-Feliciano. I'm blessed to serve in 3 00:00:08,070 --> 00:00:09,710 the dual parish of Emmanuel Lutheran 4 00:00:09,710 --> 00:00:13,010 Church in Clinger, Iowa, as well as St. 5 00:00:13,150 --> 00:00:14,950 Paul's Lutheran Church in Readland, Iowa. 6 00:00:15,350 --> 00:00:16,550 It's a joy for us to have our time here 7 00:00:16,550 --> 00:00:18,520 together as we discuss the peril of AI 8 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,090 art. Now, when approaching a subject in 9 00:00:21,090 --> 00:00:22,890 this manner, in this way, it's possibly 10 00:00:22,890 --> 00:00:24,390 best for us to begin by saying what we 11 00:00:24,390 --> 00:00:26,560 will not be saying in our time together. 12 00:00:27,030 --> 00:00:29,560 The first of which is that we will not be 13 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,130 demonizing artificial intelligence in art, 14 00:00:32,230 --> 00:00:35,130 nor will we be attempting to, well, 15 00:00:35,330 --> 00:00:38,200 outright condemn or outright condone AI 16 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,310 art. In fact, what we're going to be doing 17 00:00:40,310 --> 00:00:42,910 is taking a critical evaluation of AI art 18 00:00:42,910 --> 00:00:44,980 and the role it plays in our human 19 00:00:44,980 --> 00:00:47,410 existence today. Now, as we approach 20 00:00:47,410 --> 00:00:49,650 artificial intelligence, it's key to note 21 00:00:49,650 --> 00:00:52,080 that it is a up-and-coming technology that 22 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:53,890 we haven't fully yet had the time to dive 23 00:00:53,890 --> 00:00:56,920 into and to discover. And yet, as AI came 24 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,660 into the popular landscape of how we dealt 25 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:03,730 with things such as text or art, it was 26 00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:05,500 clear to know that there was a growing 27 00:01:05,500 --> 00:01:07,330 level of concern, a measure of concern 28 00:01:07,330 --> 00:01:09,070 that was first articulated primarily 29 00:01:09,070 --> 00:01:12,470 towards text. Artificially produced texts 30 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:14,810 were considered to be a great harm to 31 00:01:14,810 --> 00:01:17,340 academia, considered a great harm to the 32 00:01:17,340 --> 00:01:19,210 way that people would begin to share 33 00:01:19,210 --> 00:01:20,780 ideas. In fact, there were lots of 34 00:01:20,780 --> 00:01:22,750 questions and qualms about how were we 35 00:01:22,750 --> 00:01:25,880 going to, well, authenticate that a work 36 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,690 of text, an article, a paper was actually 37 00:01:29,690 --> 00:01:31,660 produced by the human mind and human 38 00:01:31,660 --> 00:01:34,090 capabilities as opposed to a prompt 39 00:01:34,090 --> 00:01:37,060 artificial intelligence. In fact, this is 40 00:01:37,060 --> 00:01:39,260 what has produced many concerns throughout 41 00:01:39,260 --> 00:01:41,170 colleges and universities and through 42 00:01:41,170 --> 00:01:42,500 seminaries and other places of higher 43 00:01:42,500 --> 00:01:44,100 education all the way down to high schools 44 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:47,340 and middle schools. How do we protect this 45 00:01:47,340 --> 00:01:49,710 infringement upon actual human 46 00:01:49,710 --> 00:01:53,580 intellectual property and content? Then, 47 00:01:53,980 --> 00:01:55,780 when artificial intelligence began to grow 48 00:01:55,780 --> 00:01:58,850 into the production of images through AI 49 00:01:58,850 --> 00:02:02,390 art, there was no real outcry towards some 50 00:02:02,390 --> 00:02:04,220 of the dangers of this. To be sure, there 51 00:02:04,220 --> 00:02:05,860 are still some cries and also some 52 00:02:05,860 --> 00:02:07,690 concerns about how do we protect certain 53 00:02:07,690 --> 00:02:10,060 pieces of intellectual property. But 54 00:02:10,060 --> 00:02:13,430 overall, AI art was given a wide degree of 55 00:02:13,430 --> 00:02:15,630 acceptance that wasn't there necessarily 56 00:02:15,630 --> 00:02:18,670 for the production of texts through AI. 57 00:02:19,540 --> 00:02:21,410 Now, oftentimes, this is due to the fact 58 00:02:21,410 --> 00:02:24,480 that AI art is seen as relatively 59 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,850 harmless. But AI art is not harmless. AI 60 00:02:29,850 --> 00:02:33,120 art strives to, through its use of it, to 61 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,420 maybe democratize art, to actually create 62 00:02:35,420 --> 00:02:38,490 a certain measure of accessibility to art. 63 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,530 And yet, there is definitely a cost to 64 00:02:41,530 --> 00:02:44,200 this kind of art. There is a cost that 65 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,900 comes from the human creative element, the 66 00:02:46,900 --> 00:02:49,640 community at play, as well as the actual 67 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:52,100 production of art by human beings and our 68 00:02:52,100 --> 00:02:54,170 vocational responsibilities as those 69 00:02:54,170 --> 00:02:57,140 created by God. And we'll delve into this 70 00:02:57,140 --> 00:02:59,910 by utilizing the Eisenheim Altarpiece, as 71 00:02:59,910 --> 00:03:02,580 well as the work done by Makoto Fujimura, 72 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:04,650 as well as George Steiner, and how they 73 00:03:04,650 --> 00:03:07,050 talk about the transcendence, as well as 74 00:03:07,050 --> 00:03:09,450 our responsibility as co-creators with 75 00:03:09,450 --> 00:03:12,120 God. So as we begin to tackle the subject 76 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,630 of art and transcendence, well, we need to 77 00:03:15,630 --> 00:03:16,100 really approach the fact that George 78 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:19,730 Steiner, in his work Real Presences, 79 00:03:20,130 --> 00:03:22,500 tackles this concept of the transcendent 80 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:24,970 reality that's all around us. He argues 81 00:03:24,970 --> 00:03:26,710 that any piece of art, whether it's 82 00:03:26,710 --> 00:03:29,140 through images like paintings, or whether 83 00:03:29,140 --> 00:03:31,110 it's through music, or whether it's 84 00:03:31,110 --> 00:03:32,950 through something like poetry, the use of 85 00:03:32,950 --> 00:03:35,750 words, any individual artist is attempting 86 00:03:35,750 --> 00:03:38,050 to grapple with the transcendent reality 87 00:03:38,050 --> 00:03:40,220 around us. The idea that there is 88 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,350 something actually out there to be grasped 89 00:03:42,350 --> 00:03:44,290 beyond what can just purely be seen by the 90 00:03:44,290 --> 00:03:46,490 physical markers around us. This is to 91 00:03:46,490 --> 00:03:48,630 appreciate the fact of such works like 92 00:03:48,630 --> 00:03:51,060 Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, when 93 00:03:51,060 --> 00:03:53,530 they talk about the idea of, by any other 94 00:03:53,530 --> 00:03:56,240 name, would it smell just as sweet. The 95 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:57,770 idea there is that there is a transcendent 96 00:03:57,770 --> 00:04:00,170 reality behind how we experience things 97 00:04:00,170 --> 00:04:02,940 like love, and how we experience a rose in 98 00:04:02,940 --> 00:04:05,040 the first place, and how the word for it 99 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,350 is the word for it, but there is something 100 00:04:06,350 --> 00:04:09,010 beyond just this word that we have for it. 101 00:04:09,250 --> 00:04:10,780 It's the way in which you see a beautiful 102 00:04:10,780 --> 00:04:13,590 landscape painting out and abroad, and yet 103 00:04:13,590 --> 00:04:15,590 there is something about it that grapples 104 00:04:15,590 --> 00:04:17,160 you, that grasps you, even though you may 105 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:18,890 never have been there. Maybe you've never 106 00:04:18,890 --> 00:04:20,830 even seen this location, you've never seen 107 00:04:20,830 --> 00:04:22,890 that individual in the painting, yet 108 00:04:22,890 --> 00:04:24,860 something grasps your attention and pulls 109 00:04:24,860 --> 00:04:26,570 you towards it. And that can be the 110 00:04:26,570 --> 00:04:28,470 transcendent reality that the artist is 111 00:04:28,470 --> 00:04:31,200 attempting to capture. When the artist is 112 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:32,970 attempting to capture this transcendence, 113 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:34,910 well, the transcendence is around them. 114 00:04:35,010 --> 00:04:36,810 It's all over the places, and what they 115 00:04:36,810 --> 00:04:38,340 see, it's what they experience in the 116 00:04:38,340 --> 00:04:40,050 moment when they see these things, and 117 00:04:40,050 --> 00:04:41,810 they attempt to, as it were, to grapple 118 00:04:41,810 --> 00:04:44,080 it, to grasp it, and to put it and commit 119 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,550 it to either words or music, or to commit 120 00:04:46,550 --> 00:04:48,950 it to the canvas. And this takes time, 121 00:04:49,290 --> 00:04:51,920 this takes effort, and this takes work. 122 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,630 This takes the artist grinding away at 123 00:04:54,630 --> 00:04:56,300 learning a task that's been passed down 124 00:04:56,300 --> 00:04:57,960 through tradition after tradition after 125 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,100 tradition over and over and over again as 126 00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:02,530 they continue the long chain of artistic 127 00:05:02,530 --> 00:05:03,970 talents and abilities that have been 128 00:05:03,970 --> 00:05:06,870 passed on through human experience. It's 129 00:05:06,870 --> 00:05:10,280 not easy for me to simply just pick up oil 130 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:12,740 and canvas and apply it like Michelangelo 131 00:05:12,740 --> 00:05:14,250 would, or like Picasso would. It's not 132 00:05:14,250 --> 00:05:16,720 easy for me to take photographs that are 133 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:18,280 absolutely beautiful and stunning. It's 134 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:20,090 not easy for me to do these things just at 135 00:05:20,090 --> 00:05:22,720 the drop of a hat. It takes time. It takes 136 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,660 talent. It takes a lot of hard work and 137 00:05:24,660 --> 00:05:26,830 dedication to it. And so this is one of 138 00:05:26,830 --> 00:05:28,260 the first problems that creeps up with 139 00:05:28,260 --> 00:05:31,530 artificially produced art through AI. AI 140 00:05:31,530 --> 00:05:33,900 art does not necessarily take much time, 141 00:05:34,270 --> 00:05:37,000 talent, or dedication to it. In fact, art 142 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,110 produced by AI takes just about five words 143 00:05:40,110 --> 00:05:42,570 in a prompt. Now in this prompt, to be 144 00:05:42,570 --> 00:05:44,540 sure, you can be clear and you can be 145 00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:46,080 particular in what you want to have and 146 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,910 what you can produce in it, but in that 147 00:05:48,910 --> 00:05:51,550 mode, you're simply creating something 148 00:05:51,550 --> 00:05:54,550 that isn't even truly an actual generated 149 00:05:54,550 --> 00:05:56,620 piece of art from your own ability to 150 00:05:56,620 --> 00:05:58,890 grapple in the area, the transcendent 151 00:05:58,890 --> 00:06:00,990 reality around you. You see, when an 152 00:06:00,990 --> 00:06:03,030 artist approaches the task, an artist will 153 00:06:03,030 --> 00:06:05,130 look out into the world and see something 154 00:06:05,130 --> 00:06:06,770 they want to capture. And they will then 155 00:06:06,770 --> 00:06:08,670 see the transcendence about it, the beauty 156 00:06:08,670 --> 00:06:10,370 of the sunrise, the way the light passes 157 00:06:10,370 --> 00:06:12,300 through the clouds. And they will take 158 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:14,710 that and put it onto a canvas using their 159 00:06:14,710 --> 00:06:16,880 skill, their talents, things honed through 160 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:18,410 years and years of work. And they will 161 00:06:18,410 --> 00:06:20,550 produce this work of art to capture the 162 00:06:20,550 --> 00:06:23,010 transcendent reality that's there, that it 163 00:06:23,010 --> 00:06:25,750 will then resonate with you, the viewer, 164 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,390 or me, the viewer. And so in that 165 00:06:28,390 --> 00:06:30,620 reaction, in the time of there, there is a 166 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:31,960 wager that is happening on the 167 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,860 transcendence. The artist is attempting to 168 00:06:34,860 --> 00:06:36,400 make something that says there is 169 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,330 something transcendent about the way I'm 170 00:06:38,330 --> 00:06:41,200 painting this sunrise. And there's 171 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:42,770 something about you as the viewer that's 172 00:06:42,770 --> 00:06:44,100 going to wager if that is actually 173 00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:45,740 something that is resonating, this 174 00:06:45,740 --> 00:06:47,970 transcendent reality that's actually being 175 00:06:47,970 --> 00:06:51,240 pointed towards. With artificial art, or 176 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,250 art produced by artificial intelligence, 177 00:06:53,450 --> 00:06:55,250 there's a bit of a difficulty there 178 00:06:55,250 --> 00:06:58,380 because, well, the artist, or the user in 179 00:06:58,380 --> 00:07:00,890 this sense, goes and types in a prompt. 180 00:07:01,150 --> 00:07:04,660 And what comes out is an image generated 181 00:07:04,660 --> 00:07:06,490 by artificial intelligence simply 182 00:07:06,490 --> 00:07:07,990 grappling at a bunch of different 183 00:07:07,990 --> 00:07:10,130 traditions, artistic thoughts or ideas. 184 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,130 Maybe they have a filter you put upon them 185 00:07:12,130 --> 00:07:14,330 to say use only this kind of art style. 186 00:07:14,630 --> 00:07:16,640 Maybe even said use it and present it in 187 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,970 this way. Artificial intelligence is 188 00:07:18,970 --> 00:07:20,770 grasping all of these things and putting 189 00:07:20,770 --> 00:07:23,640 them together in one seemingly unified 190 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,250 whole. And yet in this, the user in this 191 00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:30,020 case, doesn't have control over their 192 00:07:30,020 --> 00:07:32,080 final product. They can't make a 193 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,250 meaningful wager on the transcendence 194 00:07:34,250 --> 00:07:36,960 because what's being given to them is one 195 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,020 possibility out of many. Through any of 196 00:07:39,020 --> 00:07:42,430 these, well, sites or products that's able 197 00:07:42,430 --> 00:07:44,060 to produce art through artificial 198 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:46,300 intelligence, you can easily generate up 199 00:07:46,300 --> 00:07:49,570 to four to 16 or more images based on the 200 00:07:49,570 --> 00:07:51,400 same prompt. Because after all, artificial 201 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:53,510 intelligence is just grasping at a bunch 202 00:07:53,510 --> 00:07:55,240 of different concepts, artistic talents 203 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,040 and styles and skills and is putting 204 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,610 together something that is to match the 205 00:08:00,610 --> 00:08:02,910 prompt that you have. And the user in this 206 00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:05,950 case, well, the user is therefore going to 207 00:08:05,950 --> 00:08:07,850 be attempting to select which of these 208 00:08:07,850 --> 00:08:10,890 images most closely resonates with them. 209 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,260 This might mean that the user had one 210 00:08:13,260 --> 00:08:14,560 image in their mind, something they 211 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,960 actually did want to create, and yet they 212 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,060 aren't able to actually select an image 213 00:08:19,060 --> 00:08:21,870 that truly is what they were intending to 214 00:08:21,870 --> 00:08:23,200 create, but rather some sort of 215 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,870 amalgamation of other ideas that at best 216 00:08:25,870 --> 00:08:28,770 closely resembles the thing that they are 217 00:08:28,770 --> 00:08:31,340 looking for. This is not exactly a wager 218 00:08:31,340 --> 00:08:33,510 on transcendence, but rather is simply 219 00:08:33,510 --> 00:08:35,750 picking the best option out of a series of 220 00:08:35,750 --> 00:08:38,250 options that have been generated through a 221 00:08:38,250 --> 00:08:40,320 lens and a focus that isn't human, but is 222 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:42,890 rather artificial intelligence. And to do 223 00:08:42,890 --> 00:08:45,820 this, well, plucks out the human as part 224 00:08:45,820 --> 00:08:48,190 of this process. It plucks away the human 225 00:08:48,190 --> 00:08:49,660 who is taking a look at the world around 226 00:08:49,660 --> 00:08:51,960 them and is observing transcendent beauty 227 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:53,830 and things like the flowers, the sunrise, 228 00:08:54,100 --> 00:08:55,800 the light coming through the clouds. 229 00:08:56,740 --> 00:08:59,140 Instead, it turns it into a simple faculty 230 00:08:59,140 --> 00:09:01,810 of artificial intelligence, who should go 231 00:09:01,810 --> 00:09:03,580 through it and to sift and to find things 232 00:09:03,580 --> 00:09:06,410 to be sure that it might even see as being 233 00:09:06,410 --> 00:09:09,550 recognized as generally beautiful. But the 234 00:09:09,550 --> 00:09:12,780 artist or the user in this case, doesn't 235 00:09:12,780 --> 00:09:14,620 have full control over what's actually 236 00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:17,420 going to be the final product. And so even 237 00:09:17,420 --> 00:09:19,390 the creativity of the user then is simply 238 00:09:19,390 --> 00:09:21,230 something that's been impeded by the 239 00:09:21,230 --> 00:09:22,990 capabilities of artificial intelligence. 240 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:25,100 That doesn't come from a long line of the 241 00:09:25,100 --> 00:09:27,370 tradition of humanity over and over and 242 00:09:27,370 --> 00:09:29,470 over again. So these are some of the risks 243 00:09:29,470 --> 00:09:31,400 that are inherent in the beginning of the 244 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,240 process of artificial intelligence when it 245 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,670 comes to art. Transcendence as George 246 00:09:35,670 --> 00:09:37,310 Steiner approaches it and his work Real 247 00:09:37,310 --> 00:09:40,510 Presences requires the human element. The 248 00:09:40,510 --> 00:09:43,010 human must be present to observe the 249 00:09:43,010 --> 00:09:44,450 beauty in the world around them, the 250 00:09:44,450 --> 00:09:46,550 beauty that comes from the way the dew is 251 00:09:46,550 --> 00:09:48,420 hanging on the grass the way that flower 252 00:09:48,420 --> 00:09:51,690 is in this moment in this time, absolutely 253 00:09:51,690 --> 00:09:53,590 encapsulated in the human uniqueness of 254 00:09:53,590 --> 00:09:56,130 that experience. And that transcendence, I 255 00:09:56,130 --> 00:09:58,760 think is applied to something else. And as 256 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:00,770 it's applied to other humans to go by and 257 00:10:00,770 --> 00:10:03,400 to witness and to see, they make a wager 258 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,140 on that transcendence that is an 259 00:10:05,140 --> 00:10:07,610 absolutely thick part of the human 260 00:10:07,610 --> 00:10:10,210 experience. And artificial intelligence at 261 00:10:10,210 --> 00:10:12,840 its best, can capture maybe how other 262 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,010 people have brought about that wager, but 263 00:10:15,010 --> 00:10:17,680 at its best is a diluted form at its best 264 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:19,850 is a mimicry. This isn't to say that it 265 00:10:19,850 --> 00:10:22,350 makes it demonic or evil or terrible, but 266 00:10:22,350 --> 00:10:24,820 it does mean there is a cost. It is 267 00:10:24,820 --> 00:10:28,460 harmful in the sense that it takes away an 268 00:10:28,460 --> 00:10:30,930 important aspect to art that if we aren't 269 00:10:30,930 --> 00:10:33,260 careful in recognizing it, you might not 270 00:10:33,260 --> 00:10:35,130 recognize the ways that we are slowly 271 00:10:35,130 --> 00:10:38,100 peeking out the transcendence from our own 272 00:10:38,100 --> 00:10:40,140 art and what we produce, as well as what 273 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:43,070 we consume and what we appreciate in art. 274 00:10:44,010 --> 00:10:46,110 And to continue on this vein, we also end 275 00:10:46,110 --> 00:10:48,410 up with a scholar like Makoto Fujimura, 276 00:10:48,610 --> 00:10:50,650 who actually is an artist, a practicing 277 00:10:50,650 --> 00:10:53,180 artist. Makoto Fujimura has produced a 278 00:10:53,180 --> 00:10:55,090 book called Art and Faith. And in this 279 00:10:55,090 --> 00:10:57,520 work, he begins to approach this task and 280 00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,220 not by the exact lens that George Steiner 281 00:10:59,220 --> 00:11:00,760 does. George Steiner talks about 282 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:02,490 transcendence in the world around us. 283 00:11:02,860 --> 00:11:04,530 George Steiner approaches as the artist is 284 00:11:04,530 --> 00:11:06,430 looking at these things and music, poetry, 285 00:11:06,430 --> 00:11:09,130 and physical art. And Makoto Fujimura 286 00:11:09,130 --> 00:11:11,570 approaches it as a working artist who 287 00:11:11,570 --> 00:11:13,870 produces his own forms of abstract art, 288 00:11:13,940 --> 00:11:15,770 working with materials that are expensive 289 00:11:15,770 --> 00:11:19,140 and yet take time, long arduous time to 290 00:11:19,140 --> 00:11:22,310 make these tasks accomplishable. Now in 291 00:11:22,310 --> 00:11:25,380 his work Art and Faith, he argues that one 292 00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:27,250 of the core functional realities of being 293 00:11:27,250 --> 00:11:30,190 human is in being a co-creator with God, 294 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:32,190 how God in the beginning, when he created 295 00:11:32,190 --> 00:11:34,360 the heavens and the earth, did so in this 296 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:36,030 beautiful and wondrous way by speaking 297 00:11:36,030 --> 00:11:38,530 things into creation, they were and they 298 00:11:38,530 --> 00:11:40,470 existed. At the pinnacle of this creation, 299 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:43,200 he put mankind right at the top. And when 300 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,140 he put mankind at the top, mankind was to 301 00:11:46,140 --> 00:11:48,670 work, to make something out of this 302 00:11:48,670 --> 00:11:51,140 reality. And so in this, we see Adam 303 00:11:51,140 --> 00:11:54,510 naming the animals. We see Adam fashioning 304 00:11:54,510 --> 00:11:55,650 something out of the world around him as 305 00:11:55,650 --> 00:11:58,020 he almost works in a co-creator 306 00:11:58,020 --> 00:12:00,720 relationship with God. When God spoke, 307 00:12:01,090 --> 00:12:03,460 things happened. When Adam names the 308 00:12:03,460 --> 00:12:06,320 animals, he speaks and whatever he calls 309 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,230 that thing, that's its name. And so there 310 00:12:09,230 --> 00:12:13,130 is a fundamental human reality in being co 311 00:12:13,130 --> 00:12:15,300 -creators with God. This doesn't elevate 312 00:12:15,300 --> 00:12:17,470 us to being on an equal level with God 313 00:12:17,470 --> 00:12:19,170 when we were down here, but now that we're 314 00:12:19,170 --> 00:12:20,810 co-creators on the same level, it does 315 00:12:20,810 --> 00:12:22,810 rightly place God at the top as the 316 00:12:22,810 --> 00:12:25,110 original creator, the original maker and 317 00:12:25,110 --> 00:12:27,110 artist, if you will. But it gives humans a 318 00:12:27,110 --> 00:12:29,010 unique responsibility. It doesn't say that 319 00:12:29,010 --> 00:12:31,320 the armadillos called things names and 320 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:32,480 that's what they were named. It doesn't 321 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,050 say that's what the snake does. He named 322 00:12:34,050 --> 00:12:35,750 something that's what it is, but that's 323 00:12:35,750 --> 00:12:38,820 what people do. And so Fujimura argues 324 00:12:38,820 --> 00:12:40,960 that this is a fundamental part of being 325 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,130 human. To be human is to be a co-creator, 326 00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:45,600 to make something out of the world, 327 00:12:45,630 --> 00:12:46,830 whether that's the physical art of 328 00:12:46,830 --> 00:12:48,830 painting, it's building architecture and 329 00:12:48,830 --> 00:12:51,040 gigantic landscaping projects that are 330 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,470 being done, is to make music, is to make 331 00:12:53,470 --> 00:12:56,570 poetry. And so he approaches the idea of 332 00:12:56,570 --> 00:12:59,240 art as fundamentally one that is human. It 333 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,210 requires a human element because that's 334 00:13:01,210 --> 00:13:02,910 what God designed us for, to be co 335 00:13:02,910 --> 00:13:05,320 -creators. And so this brings up another 336 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,290 risk of artificial intelligence and 337 00:13:07,290 --> 00:13:09,490 physical art. Much like we have this kind 338 00:13:09,490 --> 00:13:12,190 of question in the idea of intellectual 339 00:13:12,190 --> 00:13:14,060 text or intellectual properties with 340 00:13:14,060 --> 00:13:15,930 artificial intelligence, we actually have 341 00:13:15,930 --> 00:13:18,330 to ask ourselves what do we lose when the 342 00:13:18,330 --> 00:13:20,770 humanity is removed from the art itself? 343 00:13:21,230 --> 00:13:23,940 By using artificial intelligence and art, 344 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,110 the human creator, the user in this case, 345 00:13:27,310 --> 00:13:29,340 is sitting on a keyboard and is typing out 346 00:13:29,340 --> 00:13:31,780 prompts that the image comes back to him 347 00:13:31,780 --> 00:13:35,310 based on what he or she has typed into the 348 00:13:35,310 --> 00:13:38,150 prompt bar. Now in this prompt bar, the 349 00:13:38,150 --> 00:13:40,790 human being seeds all control of being a 350 00:13:40,790 --> 00:13:43,890 co-creator with God and instead now simply 351 00:13:43,890 --> 00:13:46,890 puts their hands back, submits the prompt, 352 00:13:47,030 --> 00:13:49,060 and is fed through artificial intelligence 353 00:13:49,060 --> 00:13:52,630 and an image comes back to them. Now in 354 00:13:52,630 --> 00:13:55,230 this process, what has the human being 355 00:13:55,230 --> 00:13:57,800 created? The human being hasn't created 356 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,340 anything so much as well, entering a 357 00:14:00,340 --> 00:14:03,240 prompt and seeing it be made before him or 358 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,410 her. Now in this case, the user has seeded 359 00:14:06,410 --> 00:14:08,510 some of that God-given responsibility in 360 00:14:08,510 --> 00:14:11,350 being a co-creator. Adam doesn't in his 361 00:14:11,350 --> 00:14:13,420 beginning, when he's trying to name the 362 00:14:13,420 --> 00:14:16,450 animals, say, well, let's have this 363 00:14:16,450 --> 00:14:19,290 aardvark go out and name these other 364 00:14:19,290 --> 00:14:21,030 animals and I'll tackle these ones and 365 00:14:21,030 --> 00:14:22,360 then they'll kind of split up the 366 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,630 responsibilities. Instead, it is Adam who 367 00:14:25,630 --> 00:14:28,930 does the work. He controls what is being 368 00:14:28,930 --> 00:14:31,100 made as far as he's speaking, obviously 369 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:33,040 within the limitations of God. And this 370 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,270 happens every single time an artist goes 371 00:14:35,270 --> 00:14:37,840 to the canvas or an artist approaches the 372 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,050 task of jazz improv solo. When an artist 373 00:14:41,050 --> 00:14:43,410 approaches their craft in this way, they 374 00:14:43,410 --> 00:14:45,850 know they are making something new and 375 00:14:45,850 --> 00:14:48,050 they're able to control the brush strokes, 376 00:14:48,150 --> 00:14:49,920 are able to control the pen as they write 377 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:51,960 out their prose or their poetry, they're 378 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,330 able to control the valves they push down 379 00:14:54,330 --> 00:14:56,560 on a trumpet as they play up and down 380 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:58,530 certain scales that mesh within the 381 00:14:58,530 --> 00:15:00,430 melodic lines that are going on in the 382 00:15:00,430 --> 00:15:03,530 jazz piece at hand, and the artist then is 383 00:15:03,530 --> 00:15:06,270 innately human in their own essence in 384 00:15:06,270 --> 00:15:08,340 being. And so this is an important factor 385 00:15:08,340 --> 00:15:10,280 that's lost in artificial intelligence. 386 00:15:10,740 --> 00:15:13,810 When a human being seeds their control of 387 00:15:13,810 --> 00:15:15,850 being a co-creator, they are giving it 388 00:15:15,850 --> 00:15:18,850 away what they ought not give away. They 389 00:15:18,850 --> 00:15:20,520 are seeding their control for this other 390 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:22,950 thing to go about and to create other 391 00:15:22,950 --> 00:15:26,620 creations. And yet, this artificial 392 00:15:26,620 --> 00:15:28,390 intelligence will likely borrow from 393 00:15:28,390 --> 00:15:30,560 genuine human creators who have created in 394 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:32,430 their own mediums. And this is different, 395 00:15:32,460 --> 00:15:33,530 of course, from when we talk about 396 00:15:33,530 --> 00:15:35,670 digitally produced art, artists who use 397 00:15:35,670 --> 00:15:37,540 digital media, because they are still in 398 00:15:37,540 --> 00:15:39,300 control, they are still utilizing it, 399 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:40,970 they're still taking time and tools and 400 00:15:40,970 --> 00:15:42,610 talents, they're still making it 401 00:15:42,610 --> 00:15:44,410 digitally. This isn't to say that just 402 00:15:44,410 --> 00:15:46,480 because it is on a screen or it's through 403 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:48,750 a computer that somehow we've lost all 404 00:15:48,750 --> 00:15:50,950 humanity in this. But artificial 405 00:15:50,950 --> 00:15:53,690 intelligence directly takes that control 406 00:15:53,690 --> 00:15:56,790 away. Even the most diligent user, should 407 00:15:56,790 --> 00:15:58,190 they approach the keyboard to write out 408 00:15:58,190 --> 00:15:59,720 their prompt of what they want to make, 409 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,330 cannot control every single detail. So 410 00:16:02,330 --> 00:16:04,560 they try and be as detailed as possible in 411 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:06,530 their prompt about the length of hair on 412 00:16:06,530 --> 00:16:08,830 somebody, the color of it, the exact shade 413 00:16:08,830 --> 00:16:10,700 of it, the way the face ought to look and 414 00:16:10,700 --> 00:16:12,670 the landscape should look. Inevitably, 415 00:16:12,970 --> 00:16:14,870 some details will need to be filled in, 416 00:16:14,970 --> 00:16:17,640 these gaps. When an artist is at work, at 417 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:19,680 the canvas or in other places there, they 418 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,210 have their gaps filled in. They have to be 419 00:16:23,210 --> 00:16:24,680 the one who fills it in. They have to put 420 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:27,050 that kind of face, they have to step back 421 00:16:27,050 --> 00:16:28,490 and look at the image and say, is this 422 00:16:28,490 --> 00:16:30,050 actually what I wanted or is this what I'm 423 00:16:30,050 --> 00:16:31,920 imagining? Do I need to change up this 424 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,230 cloud or the shading here in this leaf? Do 425 00:16:34,230 --> 00:16:35,690 I have to approach this in a different 426 00:16:35,690 --> 00:16:37,630 way? Do I have to actually do this a 427 00:16:37,630 --> 00:16:38,960 little bit differently? But artificial 428 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,230 intelligence, once it takes the prompt, no 429 00:16:41,230 --> 00:16:43,770 matter how careful the user is, there will 430 00:16:43,770 --> 00:16:46,140 be some elements that are just filled in. 431 00:16:46,470 --> 00:16:49,670 Why is that tree where it's placed? Why is 432 00:16:49,670 --> 00:16:52,010 the artist, why is the artist placed this 433 00:16:52,010 --> 00:16:54,050 man moving this way? In artificial 434 00:16:54,050 --> 00:16:55,810 intelligence, we can't answer that 435 00:16:55,810 --> 00:16:57,720 question. And some of the most beautiful 436 00:16:57,720 --> 00:16:59,880 aspects of the transcendence are in these 437 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:02,490 moments. Why are there three trees in this 438 00:17:02,490 --> 00:17:04,890 graveyard picture? Perhaps it's to signify 439 00:17:04,890 --> 00:17:06,490 the Trinity and the promise of the 440 00:17:06,490 --> 00:17:08,260 resurrection to come. And with a human 441 00:17:08,260 --> 00:17:10,400 artist, you can understand why. Whereas 442 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:11,100 with artificial intelligence, all you're 443 00:17:11,100 --> 00:17:14,470 left with is a guess that perhaps this is 444 00:17:14,470 --> 00:17:16,270 just what the computer pulled from a 445 00:17:16,270 --> 00:17:19,200 different prompt. Now, all this is to say, 446 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,010 it's necessary for a human being to be a 447 00:17:22,010 --> 00:17:24,310 part of the actual creation. And not just 448 00:17:24,310 --> 00:17:25,780 a part in the sense of typing on a prompt, 449 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,050 but to actually be the one who is the co 450 00:17:28,050 --> 00:17:30,150 -creator. Because this co-creator is 451 00:17:30,150 --> 00:17:31,650 pulling apart from the transcendent 452 00:17:31,650 --> 00:17:33,550 reality around them, and they're applying 453 00:17:33,550 --> 00:17:36,390 it directly to paper, to the canvas, to a 454 00:17:36,390 --> 00:17:38,860 musical score, to whatever form of art 455 00:17:38,860 --> 00:17:40,430 they're making. The human being is 456 00:17:40,430 --> 00:17:43,060 intensely a part of this process. And this 457 00:17:43,060 --> 00:17:45,060 human being is not by themselves. In fact, 458 00:17:45,060 --> 00:17:47,770 this human being, by being a co-creator, 459 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,400 is also within the human tradition of 460 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,400 artists that have flowed from before them. 461 00:17:52,470 --> 00:17:54,070 They cannot help but take in the fact that 462 00:17:54,070 --> 00:17:55,640 there have been other artists before them 463 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,480 who have made developments, or maybe even 464 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:59,210 taught them, who are part of a further 465 00:17:59,210 --> 00:18:00,650 tradition that scales back throughout 466 00:18:00,650 --> 00:18:02,680 time. And they are a product of that, 467 00:18:02,750 --> 00:18:05,020 continuing the great chain of human co 468 00:18:05,020 --> 00:18:07,150 -creators continually pulling out from the 469 00:18:07,150 --> 00:18:09,390 transcendence of their own day and of 470 00:18:09,390 --> 00:18:11,860 their own age. And so this human artist is 471 00:18:11,860 --> 00:18:14,290 a part of a greater community of artistry 472 00:18:14,290 --> 00:18:15,790 that has taken place throughout centuries 473 00:18:15,790 --> 00:18:17,960 and centuries and centuries. But they're 474 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:19,960 also intimately located within their own 475 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,230 community. An artist who is creating a 476 00:18:22,230 --> 00:18:23,600 piece, whether it's for a patron, or 477 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:25,670 whether it's for a fixture to go out 478 00:18:25,670 --> 00:18:27,840 somewhere, or for a larger magazine to be 479 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,970 printed as hymnody, or whether it's the 480 00:18:29,970 --> 00:18:31,410 physical art to be produced, or whether 481 00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:33,610 it's poetry, this artist is creating this 482 00:18:33,610 --> 00:18:35,710 art for other people, for other people to 483 00:18:35,710 --> 00:18:37,880 enjoy. Maybe it's for their own devotional 484 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,520 resources, their own needs, but the artist 485 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,050 still is creating something to be shared, 486 00:18:42,050 --> 00:18:44,660 to be given, to be distributed in this own 487 00:18:44,660 --> 00:18:46,790 way. And so the artist has a community 488 00:18:46,790 --> 00:18:48,930 that they are locating themselves in, not 489 00:18:48,930 --> 00:18:51,200 just through the time of other artists and 490 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,660 their own tradition, but also in the 491 00:18:53,660 --> 00:18:55,300 actual recipients who are going to partake 492 00:18:55,300 --> 00:18:57,740 of that art. Every time you and I go into 493 00:18:57,740 --> 00:19:00,070 an art gallery, well, we go and see the 494 00:19:00,070 --> 00:19:01,470 art that's been produced in order to be 495 00:19:01,470 --> 00:19:03,240 shared, and we interact with the 496 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,110 transcendent reality that's been grasped 497 00:19:05,110 --> 00:19:07,410 at and pulled down, and has been put upon 498 00:19:07,410 --> 00:19:09,980 thrust upon a canvas, or other kind of 499 00:19:09,980 --> 00:19:11,580 sculpture, and we're looking at the way 500 00:19:11,580 --> 00:19:13,150 that has been made by an artist who 501 00:19:13,150 --> 00:19:14,750 genuinely took the time and their own 502 00:19:14,750 --> 00:19:16,350 talent to make sure the shading was just 503 00:19:16,350 --> 00:19:18,060 right, to make sure the light came through 504 00:19:18,060 --> 00:19:20,630 just well so it could impact me or you in 505 00:19:20,630 --> 00:19:22,690 this way. And therefore we're able to 506 00:19:22,690 --> 00:19:24,560 enjoy the transcendence that has been 507 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,930 grasped by this co-creator and put to 508 00:19:26,930 --> 00:19:28,630 something, whether it's to inspire artists 509 00:19:28,630 --> 00:19:30,700 for generations to come to continue the 510 00:19:30,700 --> 00:19:31,240 chain of art, whether it's to be a 511 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:32,700 creative artist for the co-creators, or 512 00:19:32,700 --> 00:19:33,670 whether it's simply for the greater 513 00:19:33,670 --> 00:19:36,970 community at play, to hear, or to see, or 514 00:19:36,970 --> 00:19:39,310 to read, to be touched and to be moved by 515 00:19:39,310 --> 00:19:41,780 the transcendent reality grasped at and 516 00:19:41,780 --> 00:19:45,250 applied by this co-creator. And so this 517 00:19:45,250 --> 00:19:47,290 greater community is a beautiful and 518 00:19:47,290 --> 00:19:49,990 wondrous thing that is also lost in the 519 00:19:49,990 --> 00:19:53,520 production of art produced by AI. When AI 520 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,860 produces art, there is no need for a 521 00:19:56,860 --> 00:19:59,030 greater community. Rather, I can sit at my 522 00:19:59,030 --> 00:20:02,170 keyboard, type in my five-word prompt, and 523 00:20:02,170 --> 00:20:04,000 simply click on some boxes, check some 524 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,700 boxes, to help it create the kind of thing 525 00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:09,670 that I want. Once it's created, it can be 526 00:20:09,670 --> 00:20:12,610 just for me in my own basement, downstairs 527 00:20:12,610 --> 00:20:14,210 working on my own art. I don't need to 528 00:20:14,210 --> 00:20:15,910 have the input from other people. I don't 529 00:20:15,910 --> 00:20:17,480 have other ideas, thoughts, or words. I 530 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,250 simply can churn out 80 different pieces 531 00:20:19,250 --> 00:20:22,390 of art within the span of, well, 10, 15 532 00:20:22,390 --> 00:20:24,590 minutes, and I don't need to worry if 533 00:20:24,590 --> 00:20:25,760 other people are going to appreciate them 534 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:26,920 because this art is something that's 535 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:28,830 created only for me. And so I don't have 536 00:20:28,830 --> 00:20:30,490 to worry about cultivating skill or 537 00:20:30,490 --> 00:20:32,700 techniques beyond whatever it is that I 538 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:35,330 want to do for me, myself, and I. And of 539 00:20:35,330 --> 00:20:37,570 course, one can still go out and share 540 00:20:37,570 --> 00:20:41,070 this art produced by AI, but the first and 541 00:20:41,070 --> 00:20:43,470 primary audience is me. Do I like the 542 00:20:43,470 --> 00:20:45,610 image that has been spat back out towards 543 00:20:45,610 --> 00:20:48,210 me? Do I appreciate this thing that I have 544 00:20:48,210 --> 00:20:50,250 typed in and desired to be created? Has 545 00:20:50,250 --> 00:20:52,680 this been made in the image that I desire? 546 00:20:53,050 --> 00:20:54,950 And we run the risk of it almost becoming 547 00:20:55,890 --> 00:20:57,860 idolatrous. I want to produce something 548 00:20:57,860 --> 00:21:00,090 that is appealing and attractive just to 549 00:21:00,090 --> 00:21:01,290 me, and this is the thing that I want to 550 00:21:01,290 --> 00:21:03,430 create, not through my own work, my own 551 00:21:03,430 --> 00:21:05,730 time, my own talent, to cultivate and to 552 00:21:05,730 --> 00:21:07,600 create certain talents and capabilities 553 00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:09,830 that have actually taken toil and hours, 554 00:21:09,930 --> 00:21:11,700 growing and growing and growing my ability 555 00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:13,340 to create something that I'm pleased with, 556 00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:15,240 but rather, I'm simply typing away at a 557 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:16,870 keyboard, seeing image after image until I 558 00:21:16,870 --> 00:21:19,140 find the one that has made the most in my 559 00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:22,250 image that I actually enjoy. And perhaps 560 00:21:22,250 --> 00:21:24,820 I'll share it, perhaps I won't. There's no 561 00:21:24,820 --> 00:21:26,720 need for a greater community to be around 562 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,920 to be a part of this process. In fact, you 563 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,290 and I know this to be slightly true in the 564 00:21:30,290 --> 00:21:32,190 sense that when you scroll through your 565 00:21:32,190 --> 00:21:33,660 own social media or you scroll through 566 00:21:33,660 --> 00:21:35,990 websites, you can instinctively see a 567 00:21:35,990 --> 00:21:37,830 piece of media nowadays that's been 568 00:21:37,830 --> 00:21:40,770 produced by AI, and you can scroll past it 569 00:21:40,770 --> 00:21:42,200 because there's no greater meaning to it. 570 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:43,670 There was no time, talent, or effort that 571 00:21:43,670 --> 00:21:45,040 went into it. It might be a little bit 572 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:46,970 pleasing, and it might even serve as a 573 00:21:46,970 --> 00:21:48,570 phone wallpaper for a little bit or the 574 00:21:48,570 --> 00:21:51,710 back of a computer wallpaper, but it's not 575 00:21:51,710 --> 00:21:53,840 lasting or enduring. It doesn't fit into a 576 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,710 wider corpus of enjoyment. It doesn't fit 577 00:21:56,710 --> 00:21:58,480 into a greater community. It's simply, 578 00:21:59,580 --> 00:22:05,360 well, just a momentary creation. So all 579 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:06,790 these things can be lost. These are part 580 00:22:06,790 --> 00:22:08,860 of the risks that come up in the 581 00:22:08,860 --> 00:22:11,430 production and the consumption of art 582 00:22:11,430 --> 00:22:13,230 produced by artificial intelligence, 583 00:22:13,230 --> 00:22:15,670 because there is a beauty in pulling out 584 00:22:15,670 --> 00:22:18,100 the transcendence around us and to have co 585 00:22:18,100 --> 00:22:20,400 -creators who then apply this, well, 586 00:22:20,870 --> 00:22:22,670 transcendence to their own form, their own 587 00:22:22,670 --> 00:22:25,340 medium of art in a way that is to be 588 00:22:25,340 --> 00:22:28,150 received and to be communicated with a 589 00:22:28,150 --> 00:22:30,410 wider community around them. And these 590 00:22:30,410 --> 00:22:33,050 things are all inherent in art. As George 591 00:22:33,050 --> 00:22:34,650 Steiner has articulated, the transcendence 592 00:22:34,650 --> 00:22:36,320 is always out there, and the artist is 593 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:37,720 forever making a wager on this 594 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,890 transcendence, that this actually sounds 595 00:22:39,890 --> 00:22:42,230 aesthetically pleasing. The work of poetry 596 00:22:42,230 --> 00:22:44,600 is not just a select a good combination, 597 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:46,100 but the right combination of words. That 598 00:22:46,100 --> 00:22:48,570 we're able to actually describe something 599 00:22:48,570 --> 00:22:50,430 in a beautiful and meaningful way, that 600 00:22:50,430 --> 00:22:51,900 we're actually able to take the world 601 00:22:51,900 --> 00:22:54,170 around us and put it to canvas or to put 602 00:22:54,170 --> 00:22:56,710 it to sculpture in a way that is true and 603 00:22:56,710 --> 00:22:58,940 beautiful to this transcendent reality all 604 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:01,480 around us. And of course, Makoto Fujimura 605 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,010 would argue as well that this is part of 606 00:23:03,010 --> 00:23:04,880 what we're meant to do as humans. We are 607 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,590 co-creators with God. And in fact, we see 608 00:23:08,590 --> 00:23:10,190 how this is always playing out in the 609 00:23:10,190 --> 00:23:12,420 production of art. And one of the great 610 00:23:12,420 --> 00:23:14,830 ways this plays out in the way that the 611 00:23:14,830 --> 00:23:17,700 artist, the work, and the transcendence is 612 00:23:17,700 --> 00:23:19,960 all related to a greater community comes 613 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,070 from a work of art given to us in 614 00:23:22,070 --> 00:23:25,540 Grunewald's Eisenheim Altarpiece. Now, the 615 00:23:25,540 --> 00:23:28,270 Eisenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald 616 00:23:28,270 --> 00:23:32,140 is a beautiful work of masterful sculpting 617 00:23:32,140 --> 00:23:34,510 and painting and artistry that comes 618 00:23:34,510 --> 00:23:36,450 together. But of course, for our time and 619 00:23:36,450 --> 00:23:37,820 for our purposes and for our sake and 620 00:23:37,820 --> 00:23:40,050 attention, we won't be focusing on the 621 00:23:40,050 --> 00:23:42,250 entirety of this thing. After all, it's an 622 00:23:42,250 --> 00:23:43,990 altarpiece so you can open it up and see 623 00:23:43,990 --> 00:23:45,720 different layers. But instead, we're just 624 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,120 going to be focusing on the original 625 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:51,030 closed aspect of the altarpiece. Now, when 626 00:23:51,030 --> 00:23:53,260 Matthias Grunewald went to go and to 627 00:23:53,260 --> 00:23:55,130 create this, there was a disease that was 628 00:23:55,130 --> 00:23:57,940 ravaging the community at the local, well, 629 00:23:58,170 --> 00:24:01,170 hospital chapel, the local hospital. And 630 00:24:01,170 --> 00:24:03,440 so in that hospital, Grunewald is working 631 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,610 to make sure that he can help portray the 632 00:24:06,610 --> 00:24:08,550 suffering that is going on in the people 633 00:24:08,550 --> 00:24:11,220 around him. He's able to portray the fact 634 00:24:11,220 --> 00:24:13,880 that there is a reality that is going on 635 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:15,350 in the transcendent suffering of the 636 00:24:15,350 --> 00:24:17,520 people around him. Those who are suffering 637 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,990 in this, well, pain, well, they are going 638 00:24:21,990 --> 00:24:24,230 to St. Anthony's monastery looking for 639 00:24:24,230 --> 00:24:27,930 some kind of relief and some kind of care. 640 00:24:28,030 --> 00:24:33,570 It was a 641 00:24:41,650 --> 00:24:44,550 very brutal and painful way to die. And so 642 00:24:44,550 --> 00:24:46,420 walking in the midst of this, you could 643 00:24:46,420 --> 00:24:48,990 see all the suffering and all the pain 644 00:24:48,990 --> 00:24:50,690 that's going on in a greater community. 645 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,560 And so with his work with this altarpiece, 646 00:24:55,090 --> 00:24:57,730 Grunewald takes this direct suffering and 647 00:24:57,730 --> 00:24:59,200 attempts to make meaning out of it, to 648 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,100 point to the transcendence of the 649 00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:03,270 suffering around him and tries to relate 650 00:25:03,270 --> 00:25:04,470 it to an incredible experience with God 651 00:25:04,470 --> 00:25:06,700 that is both beautiful and poignant. And 652 00:25:06,700 --> 00:25:10,140 so in this altarpiece, we see the core 653 00:25:10,140 --> 00:25:13,110 aspects of why humanity and art are 654 00:25:13,110 --> 00:25:16,450 necessary and beautiful and good. And so 655 00:25:16,450 --> 00:25:18,880 here is the altarpiece itself, well, here 656 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,050 it is proper, and we can see how it all 657 00:25:21,050 --> 00:25:23,490 plays out in the, well, the aspects of 658 00:25:23,490 --> 00:25:25,020 what we've just discussed, a beautiful 659 00:25:25,020 --> 00:25:27,990 example of what should be going on when it 660 00:25:27,990 --> 00:25:30,690 comes to art. We've seen how AI art, well, 661 00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:32,360 you can't control all these aspects or all 662 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:34,530 these elements, and yet in this 663 00:25:34,530 --> 00:25:36,130 altarpiece, we see how beautiful it all 664 00:25:36,130 --> 00:25:39,640 is. Created by a human who's had to learn 665 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,040 through the chain of creators before him 666 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,580 and artists before him, he's able to apply 667 00:25:44,580 --> 00:25:45,940 the transcendent realities of the 668 00:25:45,940 --> 00:25:48,310 suffering before him. You see before you 669 00:25:48,310 --> 00:25:51,080 Christ who is on the cross suffering, and 670 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,180 you maybe can't see it that well in the 671 00:25:53,180 --> 00:25:55,390 image above here, but in the image above, 672 00:25:55,490 --> 00:25:58,060 he is actually bearing the same pockmarks 673 00:25:58,060 --> 00:25:59,720 that those suffering from Saint Anthony's 674 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,230 fire would. We see next to him Saint 675 00:26:02,230 --> 00:26:04,630 Anthony and Saint Sebastian are on either 676 00:26:04,630 --> 00:26:06,800 side of him, one for the saint of healing 677 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:08,200 and one because, well, this is Saint 678 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:10,630 Anthony's fire and Saint Anthony's, well, 679 00:26:10,870 --> 00:26:12,100 chapel where they're all going to for 680 00:26:12,100 --> 00:26:14,200 healing. And people are placed so you can 681 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,970 see the suffering as that full bore. 682 00:26:16,510 --> 00:26:18,180 Christ suffering on the cross has his 683 00:26:18,180 --> 00:26:20,840 hands up in supplication as he is marked 684 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,050 with these pockmarks, and yet below him, 685 00:26:23,150 --> 00:26:25,380 just to his side, you can see Saint John 686 00:26:25,380 --> 00:26:27,750 the Baptist with his book open pointing to 687 00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:29,790 Christ, pointing to the Lamb of God, who 688 00:26:29,790 --> 00:26:31,790 takes away the sins of the world, and 689 00:26:31,790 --> 00:26:34,120 below him is that same lamb, this 690 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:37,230 victorious lamb, and you see Mary the 691 00:26:37,230 --> 00:26:40,030 mother of Jesus, you see Saint John, you 692 00:26:40,030 --> 00:26:41,770 see all these people together staring at 693 00:26:41,770 --> 00:26:44,870 this Christ who is suffering, and below in 694 00:26:44,870 --> 00:26:47,300 the burial of it, you see how Christ still 695 00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:49,710 with these pockmarks on his flesh is being 696 00:26:49,710 --> 00:26:53,410 born away to his tomb. And so the 697 00:26:53,410 --> 00:26:56,410 narrative that's in place in this art is a 698 00:26:56,410 --> 00:26:59,780 showcasing of why co-creators need to be 699 00:26:59,780 --> 00:27:02,690 human. Artificially produced art can't 700 00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:05,120 explain why is it he has this expression 701 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,020 on his face, why are these pockmarks in 702 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:08,860 this way, what is going on with the color 703 00:27:08,860 --> 00:27:11,400 composition, why are these saints in not 704 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,830 that other way, why is it portrayed in 705 00:27:13,830 --> 00:27:15,870 this way, why these colors? Whereas 706 00:27:15,870 --> 00:27:17,900 Guinevalda is actually walking around and 707 00:27:17,900 --> 00:27:20,600 he's portraying it intentionally in this 708 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,210 way for the sake of those people who are 709 00:27:23,210 --> 00:27:25,610 suffering to experience his art, to see a 710 00:27:25,610 --> 00:27:27,580 Jesus who is identifying with their 711 00:27:27,580 --> 00:27:29,210 suffering. He's pointing to the 712 00:27:29,210 --> 00:27:31,350 transcendent realities that are maybe not 713 00:27:31,350 --> 00:27:33,350 always so obvious in the actual physical 714 00:27:33,350 --> 00:27:35,920 world. He is creating something new out of 715 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:37,620 this. Co-creating with God, he is showing 716 00:27:37,620 --> 00:27:40,360 the way that Jesus Christ identifies with 717 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:41,590 those who are suffering from Saint 718 00:27:41,590 --> 00:27:44,060 Anthony's fire. He shows the way in which 719 00:27:44,060 --> 00:27:46,230 these people are not being left behind and 720 00:27:46,230 --> 00:27:48,530 abandoned, but they are with a God who 721 00:27:48,530 --> 00:27:51,470 suffers with them most assuredly. And in 722 00:27:51,470 --> 00:27:53,900 this he puts John the Baptist to point 723 00:27:53,900 --> 00:27:56,310 towards Jesus Christ, to remind them that 724 00:27:56,310 --> 00:27:58,480 this is the one they are to look towards 725 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,640 for the forgiveness of sins, salvation, 726 00:28:00,810 --> 00:28:03,450 and life everlasting. And even as those 727 00:28:03,450 --> 00:28:05,450 family members might mourn the death of 728 00:28:05,450 --> 00:28:06,980 their loved ones through Saint Anthony's 729 00:28:06,980 --> 00:28:09,750 fire, much like Mary the mother of God is 730 00:28:09,750 --> 00:28:11,890 suffering in this picture, he points 731 00:28:11,890 --> 00:28:14,060 towards the fact that this is all the sure 732 00:28:14,060 --> 00:28:16,390 realities of a God who suffers with them. 733 00:28:16,860 --> 00:28:20,430 He is not distant, He is not far. And so 734 00:28:20,430 --> 00:28:23,330 Grunewald is pulling out the transcendent 735 00:28:23,330 --> 00:28:26,140 in the reality around him, and he applies 736 00:28:26,140 --> 00:28:29,170 it devotionally and publicly for those who 737 00:28:29,170 --> 00:28:31,810 come to the chapel of Saint Anthony's to 738 00:28:31,810 --> 00:28:34,010 come for healing, to come for prayer, to 739 00:28:34,010 --> 00:28:36,650 come for respite, so they might see a God 740 00:28:36,650 --> 00:28:39,220 who suffers alongside with them to fit 741 00:28:39,220 --> 00:28:41,220 their own stories and the greater story 742 00:28:41,220 --> 00:28:43,950 around them through this visual medium of 743 00:28:43,950 --> 00:28:46,990 art. An art that doesn't come from a man 744 00:28:46,990 --> 00:28:49,460 sitting down in some room by himself just 745 00:28:49,460 --> 00:28:51,860 typing in prompts into a keyboard, but 746 00:28:51,860 --> 00:28:53,600 rather a man who is appropriating his 747 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:55,570 tasks, his time, his talents, and the 748 00:28:55,570 --> 00:28:58,000 ability that he has, the great chain of 749 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,540 pro-creators, to continue to create for 750 00:29:00,540 --> 00:29:02,410 the sake of the people. And they might see 751 00:29:02,410 --> 00:29:03,870 a God who suffers with them, who 752 00:29:03,870 --> 00:29:06,440 identifies himself with them, not distant 753 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:08,650 and not apart, but intimately and 754 00:29:08,650 --> 00:29:12,180 incarnate. And so in this way, this is the 755 00:29:12,180 --> 00:29:14,690 beauty and the fullness of a human co 756 00:29:14,690 --> 00:29:17,790 -creator pulling out the transcendence. In 757 00:29:17,790 --> 00:29:21,130 this way, the artist being unmistakably 758 00:29:21,130 --> 00:29:24,130 human continues to share this. Now true, 759 00:29:24,390 --> 00:29:26,230 some could argue that well, it'd be 760 00:29:26,230 --> 00:29:29,200 possible to do something like this with 761 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,340 artificial intelligence, that perhaps as 762 00:29:31,340 --> 00:29:33,500 the technology increases and grows, maybe 763 00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:34,710 it could produce something that looks like 764 00:29:34,710 --> 00:29:36,940 this or even better as far as visually 765 00:29:36,940 --> 00:29:39,910 appealing than this. What is lost is the 766 00:29:39,910 --> 00:29:44,050 time, the toil, the artist made. This 767 00:29:44,050 --> 00:29:46,620 wasn't produced by either the sculptor or 768 00:29:46,620 --> 00:29:48,390 by Matthias Grunewald. This wasn't 769 00:29:48,390 --> 00:29:50,590 produced by them in a matter of mere 770 00:29:50,590 --> 00:29:55,190 moments, but over weeks and months, even 771 00:29:55,190 --> 00:29:58,160 years, producing the works and working at 772 00:29:58,160 --> 00:29:59,760 this time and time again to create 773 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:01,430 something that would be lasting, would be 774 00:30:01,430 --> 00:30:03,770 accepted and seen by a greater community 775 00:30:03,770 --> 00:30:07,200 of people around them. And so this is the 776 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,370 beauty of human art. And this is exactly 777 00:30:10,370 --> 00:30:12,810 things like this that are threatened by 778 00:30:12,810 --> 00:30:15,810 artificial intelligence in art. Because AI 779 00:30:15,810 --> 00:30:20,020 art isn't harmless. AI art takes away the 780 00:30:20,020 --> 00:30:22,850 control human beings have by being a part 781 00:30:22,850 --> 00:30:24,790 of creating the art, by having a direct 782 00:30:24,790 --> 00:30:26,720 hand controlling everything it is that's 783 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:28,590 being produced rather than selecting from 784 00:30:28,590 --> 00:30:30,330 a production of images that are maybe 785 00:30:30,330 --> 00:30:32,530 close to what the user might have 786 00:30:32,530 --> 00:30:35,470 intended, but not exactly what the user 787 00:30:35,470 --> 00:30:38,870 actually created. AI art doesn't need a 788 00:30:38,870 --> 00:30:41,610 greater community around them to accept or 789 00:30:41,610 --> 00:30:43,510 to see or to make a wager on this 790 00:30:43,510 --> 00:30:48,250 transcendence. Rather it simply takes and 791 00:30:48,250 --> 00:30:51,350 generates something instantaneously that's 792 00:30:51,350 --> 00:30:55,590 hopefully pleasing to that user. And so AI 793 00:30:55,590 --> 00:30:58,560 art isn't harmless. As more and more AI 794 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,360 art is produced, we run the risk of 795 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,490 becoming more and more numb to the 796 00:31:03,490 --> 00:31:05,900 transcendence. We risk becoming more and 797 00:31:05,900 --> 00:31:08,170 more numb to the necessity of creating 798 00:31:08,170 --> 00:31:10,430 human artists who go out and produce this 799 00:31:10,430 --> 00:31:13,640 art by being part of this chain of co 800 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:19,410 -creators. But of course, as said at the 801 00:31:19,410 --> 00:31:21,580 work of this isn't simply for us to 802 00:31:21,580 --> 00:31:25,050 outright condone or condemn or for us to 803 00:31:25,050 --> 00:31:27,320 outright demonize artificial intelligence 804 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,050 in art. There is apparel and artificial 805 00:31:30,050 --> 00:31:32,720 intelligence being used to produce art, 806 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,490 but it isn't all that's there. Of course, 807 00:31:35,530 --> 00:31:37,230 an individual could use this for their own 808 00:31:37,230 --> 00:31:40,160 devotional purposes as somebody who simply 809 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,170 wants to see an image and just see it and 810 00:31:43,170 --> 00:31:45,000 then maybe there is no exact painting 811 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,870 right now of that. An individual could use 812 00:31:47,870 --> 00:31:50,110 it simply for humor or for levity or to 813 00:31:50,110 --> 00:31:51,880 use it for a simple work of production 814 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:53,440 that can be instantaneous. The idea of 815 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,980 simply creating a piece of AI art to put 816 00:31:55,980 --> 00:31:58,250 on a church announcement nice and quick. 817 00:31:58,320 --> 00:31:59,580 It doesn't need to be reinventing the 818 00:31:59,580 --> 00:32:01,250 wheel. They might just go and search clip 819 00:32:01,250 --> 00:32:03,590 art somewhere else or they might just go 820 00:32:03,590 --> 00:32:04,860 and do something else. Although that I 821 00:32:04,860 --> 00:32:06,790 guess could also be a bit of a messy area 822 00:32:06,790 --> 00:32:09,990 as well. There are uses for artificial 823 00:32:09,990 --> 00:32:13,030 intelligence in art, but before it is 824 00:32:13,030 --> 00:32:16,130 simply accepted and taken wholesale, one 825 00:32:16,130 --> 00:32:18,270 should be careful to count up the cost and 826 00:32:18,270 --> 00:32:20,070 to seek what could be some of the perils 827 00:32:20,070 --> 00:32:23,310 of artificial intelligence generating art. 828 00:32:23,740 --> 00:32:25,910 Because it isn't harmless. It isn't 829 00:32:25,910 --> 00:32:28,480 without cost. It isn't without risk. By 830 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:30,350 using artificial intelligence instead of a 831 00:32:30,350 --> 00:32:32,480 human creator, we run the risk of ceding 832 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:34,790 our control. And that control is something 833 00:32:34,790 --> 00:32:37,420 that's a beautiful gift of God. God has 834 00:32:37,420 --> 00:32:39,990 given human beings the ability to be co 835 00:32:39,990 --> 00:32:42,430 -creators, to help make things of this 836 00:32:42,430 --> 00:32:44,590 world. Every time we put paint to canvas, 837 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,030 every single time we see the shutter close 838 00:32:47,030 --> 00:32:49,600 on a camera and open again, as a new thing 839 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,570 has been captured only through that lens, 840 00:32:51,740 --> 00:32:53,170 only through that moment, in that place 841 00:32:53,170 --> 00:32:55,170 and time. Whereas we see artists putting 842 00:32:55,170 --> 00:32:57,110 pen to paper to create beautiful works of 843 00:32:57,110 --> 00:33:00,140 poetry or of literature, it comes about 844 00:33:00,140 --> 00:33:01,850 when a human being has to be the one who 845 00:33:01,850 --> 00:33:03,910 presses his lips to the trumpet and buzzes 846 00:33:03,910 --> 00:33:05,580 just in the right place at the right time 847 00:33:05,580 --> 00:33:07,250 with the right amount of airflow, with the 848 00:33:07,250 --> 00:33:09,190 fingering of the right valves, and the 849 00:33:09,190 --> 00:33:10,690 right moment, and the right scale, and the 850 00:33:10,690 --> 00:33:12,190 right key, so that it fits well in this 851 00:33:12,190 --> 00:33:14,620 improv solo that maybe will never ever be 852 00:33:14,620 --> 00:33:16,760 replicated in that way, in that moment 853 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:20,630 again. Human beings are meant to be 854 00:33:20,630 --> 00:33:22,530 creators. We're meant to be creators 855 00:33:22,530 --> 00:33:24,070 because we experience the reality of 856 00:33:24,070 --> 00:33:27,400 transcendence all around us. We experience 857 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:28,810 it when we see those things that are 858 00:33:28,810 --> 00:33:30,110 beautiful that take your breath away in 859 00:33:30,110 --> 00:33:31,680 the moments and minutes of this thing 860 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,140 called life. And to be able to make that 861 00:33:34,140 --> 00:33:36,550 wager as a viewer, to view a work of art, 862 00:33:36,580 --> 00:33:38,220 and to see that the transcendence has been 863 00:33:38,220 --> 00:33:40,250 captured by somebody else who maybe sees 864 00:33:40,250 --> 00:33:41,720 the beauty of the world in the same way 865 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:43,190 you do, or in a different way you never 866 00:33:43,190 --> 00:33:45,590 had your eyes open to before, is a 867 00:33:45,590 --> 00:33:48,330 remarkably human experience, altogether 868 00:33:48,330 --> 00:33:50,290 different than when you partake of art 869 00:33:50,290 --> 00:33:52,930 produced by artificial intelligence, and 870 00:33:52,930 --> 00:33:55,170 you see the difference of a robot 871 00:33:55,170 --> 00:33:57,630 producing this piece of art versus a human 872 00:33:57,630 --> 00:33:59,570 being who has taken the time, has 873 00:33:59,570 --> 00:34:02,110 cultivated talents and abilities to create 874 00:34:02,110 --> 00:34:04,210 something meaningful and powerful and 875 00:34:04,210 --> 00:34:08,150 impactful as only a human being can. And 876 00:34:08,150 --> 00:34:10,480 so, what are some practical ways for us 877 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,250 maybe moving forward? Of course, we're not 878 00:34:13,250 --> 00:34:14,720 going to outright toss artificial 879 00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:16,890 intelligence, and we should at times be 880 00:34:16,890 --> 00:34:18,490 cognizant of what's going on with 881 00:34:18,490 --> 00:34:20,360 artificial intelligence and art, and the 882 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,230 way that it can be used meaningfully to 883 00:34:22,230 --> 00:34:24,260 serve the church. It's perhaps outside the 884 00:34:24,260 --> 00:34:26,160 scope of our time together to begin to try 885 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,130 and limit the only ways it can be of 886 00:34:28,130 --> 00:34:29,930 service of the church, but that is worthy 887 00:34:29,930 --> 00:34:31,800 of deeper reflection. But this deeper 888 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,870 reflection should not brush aside the 889 00:34:34,870 --> 00:34:36,610 realities that have been presented before, 890 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:38,480 the realities of some of the risks and 891 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:39,940 some of the perils that are inherent in 892 00:34:39,940 --> 00:34:42,380 using artificial intelligence in art. In 893 00:34:42,380 --> 00:34:44,650 our haste maybe to adopt the ease and the 894 00:34:44,650 --> 00:34:46,850 democratization of this as now anybody can 895 00:34:46,850 --> 00:34:48,950 simply make their own masterful works of 896 00:34:48,950 --> 00:34:51,490 art in just mere moments, perhaps we can 897 00:34:51,490 --> 00:34:53,820 pause and slow down and take the time to 898 00:34:53,820 --> 00:34:56,830 consider the cost of humanity seeding 899 00:34:56,830 --> 00:34:59,400 their control as co-creators in the 900 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:01,130 grappling with the transcendent realities 901 00:35:01,130 --> 00:35:04,000 around us. We need to reflect more upon 902 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,570 what this could be, what this might look 903 00:35:05,570 --> 00:35:07,900 like in the future, but also perhaps we 904 00:35:07,900 --> 00:35:09,510 should take the time then to continue to 905 00:35:09,510 --> 00:35:11,810 redouble our efforts to encourage and to 906 00:35:11,810 --> 00:35:14,110 promote the use of artists within the 907 00:35:14,110 --> 00:35:17,210 church to continue to cultivate that human 908 00:35:17,210 --> 00:35:20,050 creativity that is part of being a co 909 00:35:20,050 --> 00:35:23,650 -creator with God. We can find and uphold 910 00:35:23,650 --> 00:35:25,990 actual human artists within our midst who 911 00:35:25,990 --> 00:35:27,520 are attempting to take their time to 912 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:28,960 cultivate the art, where it might be 913 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:31,900 simpler to simply, well, type in a few 914 00:35:31,900 --> 00:35:33,860 prompts on a computer screen to get back 915 00:35:33,860 --> 00:35:35,600 some sort of prompt. We can look to actual 916 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,700 human artists in our own midst who are 917 00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:39,870 attempting to make a wager on the 918 00:35:39,870 --> 00:35:42,470 transcendent reality around us, and we can 919 00:35:42,470 --> 00:35:44,510 help support them by financially 920 00:35:44,510 --> 00:35:46,410 supporting their works, by purchasing 921 00:35:46,410 --> 00:35:48,350 pieces of art rather than taking the 922 00:35:48,350 --> 00:35:51,150 easier, cheaper, or even maybe in some 923 00:35:51,150 --> 00:35:53,250 cases free option of creating something on 924 00:35:53,250 --> 00:35:54,990 our own for our own Bible studies, for our 925 00:35:54,990 --> 00:35:56,690 own devotional use, or for our own 926 00:35:56,690 --> 00:35:57,850 productions to greater companies. Maybe 927 00:35:57,850 --> 00:35:59,560 perhaps then we could find ways to 928 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:02,130 continue to fund these arts here in our 929 00:36:02,130 --> 00:36:05,430 own place in our own time, because AI art 930 00:36:06,060 --> 00:36:09,900 isn't harmless, it comes with a cost, and 931 00:36:09,900 --> 00:36:11,570 we should be careful to make sure that we 932 00:36:11,570 --> 00:36:13,900 don't completely give up our role, our God 933 00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:16,410 -given role as co-creators, by making sure 934 00:36:16,410 --> 00:36:18,310 that we still continue to support actual 935 00:36:18,310 --> 00:36:20,640 humans creating art without it being 936 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:22,450 driven through the lens of artificial 937 00:36:22,450 --> 00:36:24,610 intelligence, but instead letting it 938 00:36:24,610 --> 00:36:26,520 continue to be like, well, the Eisenheim 939 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:28,950 Altarpiece in which the transcendent 940 00:36:28,950 --> 00:36:30,520 realities of the world around us can be 941 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:32,620 grappled by an artist who is pulling these 942 00:36:32,620 --> 00:36:34,490 things out together so that people can see 943 00:36:34,490 --> 00:36:37,130 the transcendent reality beyond the human 944 00:36:37,130 --> 00:36:38,860 scope of their own suffering, so it can 945 00:36:38,860 --> 00:36:40,330 continue to be a part of the community 946 00:36:40,330 --> 00:36:42,030 around them and to speak to communities 947 00:36:42,030 --> 00:36:43,970 farther and farther ahead in the future, 948 00:36:44,100 --> 00:36:46,300 as Grunewald probably never believed his 949 00:36:46,300 --> 00:36:47,970 own Eisenheim Altarpiece would become the 950 00:36:47,970 --> 00:36:50,070 discussion in artificial intelligence and 951 00:36:50,070 --> 00:36:54,040 art. And yet, unmistakably, done by 952 00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:55,850 humans, it becomes a part of this greater 953 00:36:55,850 --> 00:36:57,980 conversation of artists continuing down 954 00:36:57,980 --> 00:36:59,920 the chain of co-creators as those who 955 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:01,720 grapple with the transcendent realities in 956 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:05,490 the world around them. And so, let us 957 00:37:05,490 --> 00:37:07,360 count the cost, and let us see that there 958 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:11,030 is a peril that is in AI art. And yet, let 959 00:37:11,030 --> 00:37:13,800 us continue to attempt to move forward in 960 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,270 this world as we wager on the 961 00:37:15,270 --> 00:37:17,030 transcendence for our own forms of art 962 00:37:17,030 --> 00:37:20,100 around us, and let us simply charge ahead, 963 00:37:20,270 --> 00:37:22,370 boldly, to continue to co-create in the 964 00:37:22,370 --> 00:37:24,070 world that God has made for us to enjoy, 965 00:37:24,470 --> 00:37:26,940 to know, and be blessed to experience here 966 00:37:26,940 --> 00:37:30,650 in this day and in this age. After all, to 967 00:37:30,650 --> 00:37:32,080 surrender this role of being a co-creator 968 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,450 to artificial intelligence, it is the 969 00:37:34,450 --> 00:37:38,420 great temptation and the peril of AI art. 970 00:37:38,990 --> 00:37:40,460 Thank you for your time. Thank you for 971 00:37:40,460 --> 00:37:41,690 your thoughts and your considerations. 972 00:37:41,890 --> 00:37:43,290 It's been a joy to share this time here 973 00:37:43,290 --> 00:37:45,600 with you on this day. I pray that this is 974 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:46,960 helpful for you as we continue the 975 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:48,600 discussion and the conversation in the 976 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:52,370 years ahead to come, as we see how this 977 00:37:52,370 --> 00:37:54,400 will continue to shape and to grow our 978 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:56,410 culture around us in the times to come. 979 00:37:57,070 --> 00:37:58,240 Thank you, and God bless.