We had the honor of asking artist and scientist Rashed Haq a few questions about his project Plausible Presidents, currently on view in our exhibition, Artificial Intelligence: Disinformation in a Post-Truth World.
Haq’s project, presents AI-generated images of the first sixteen US Presidents, most of them before the invention of photography. “The portraits, while visually plausible, are intellectually known as fabrications,” says Haq. The work “challenges viewers to confront their immediate acceptance of photographic information as factual.”
An interview with the artist follows.
Website: www.rashedhaq.com
Instagram: @rashedhaq
What is the most challenging aspect of balancing historical accuracy with artistic interpretation?
For this work, I wanted to make the type of images that I would make if I could have the Presidents in my studio, with my camera and camera lighting as I use them today. In this case, the challenge of historical accuracy was that there are no existing photographs for many of these Presidents, only paintings and sculptures, and sometimes drawings and text descriptions, exist. Part of the challenge was to understand if the available images were contemporaneous and if they were accurate representations of the individuals.
What is the value of visual literacy in the age of AI?
Today, we are in the age of computational creativity, where we will see the proliferation of AI-generated visual media. Visual literacy—the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image—will become even more necessary in this age. This will be necessary to contend with both the complexity of interpretation and the thread of misinformation.
Most captivating aspect of artificially generated images for you?
For me, it is probably “combinatorial creativity,” a concept where the algorithm blends diverse artistic elements to create new visual expressions. This approach uses algorithms to blend a variety of artistic elements, styles, techniques, and ideas from different art forms, art movements or historical periods, creating new visual expressions that can be both innovative and unexpected.
The one you grapple with the most, be it ethically or creatively?
One of the things that artists and others will have to grapple with is how to think about the work of art in the age of computational creativity, and the impact of this technology on our cultures and philosophies.
How would you describe the cultural shift brought in by artificially generated images?
It is hard to tell how this will evolve, as we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg on the cultural shift. Media theorists are just getting started on understanding this change. But I suspect it will be a change greater than the camera had on our society over the last 200 years.
What’s the most exciting aspect of this shift? The most worrisome?
The most exciting aspect is that this technology is freeing artists from the limitations of traditional camera techniques and the arduousness of photorealistic paintings, allowing artists to photograph their imagination. The worrisome aspects include both the misuse of the technology such is making disinformation more believable, but also potential inadvertent consequences that we have not even begun to think about.
