AI Aesthetics

While algorithms have been employed in artistic creation by artists since the 1960s, today
industrial-scale "cultural AI" is built into devices and services used by billions of people.
Instead of being an instrument of a single artistic imagination, AI has become a mechanism
for influencing the imaginations of billions. Gathered and aggregated data about the cultural
behaviors of multitudes is used to model our “aesthetic self,” predicting our future aesthetic
decisions and likes – and potentially guiding us towards choices preferred by the majority.
The integration of AI into the everyday cultural lives of billions of people raises important
questions about the future of culture, aesthetics, and taste. In my book, I discuss some
of these questions.