The advent of generative artificial intelligence platforms is revolutionizing the visual arts, introducing new players into the field, particularly creators with visual literacy but not necessarily manual skills. For several decades, contemporary art has focused on the conceptual act, on the idea rather than material execution. Beginning with the provocations of Marcel Duchamp, since the 1960s conceptual art has become a fundamental director of contemporary art, of which it constitutes perhaps one of the most defining aspects. Contemporary artists have often lost execution skills , and in many cases merely conceive works and then have them executed by other professionals. In a sense then, theoretically we have already moved past the relationship between the creative act and the personal execution of the work .
Critical debate about the impact of AI on creativity, authorship and the value of work itself is ongoing. The presence of generative AI as a tool for individual productivity is an element of dramatic discontinuity, challenging the role of humans themselves in society and in cultural and creative processes. Art cannot avoid devoting its extraordinary conceptual capabilities to this epochal phenomenon, with its ability to expose reality and reveal hidden aspects. In order to return the artist and author to their rightful leading role, we must embark upon a profound path of study and research.
Italiano