Humans versus AI: whether and why we prefer human-created compared to AI-created artwork

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Art Appreciation

Background:

• Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models can now mimic human artistic creation.
• Skepticism exists regarding AI's ability to replace human creativity in art.
• The value placed on human experience in art may influence preferences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether people prefer human-created artworks over AI-created ones.
• To understand the reasons behind potential human preference for human-made art.
• To explore the influence of perceived creator identity on art appraisal.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted where participants rated artworks labeled as "Human-created" or "AI-created".
• Paintings were actually created by AI, with the creator label being the manipulated variable.
• Participants assessed artworks on criteria including Liking, Beauty, Profundity, Worth, Emotion, Story, Meaningful, Effort, and Time to create.

Main Results:

• Study 1: Participants judged "Human-created" artworks more positively than "AI-created" artworks across all criteria.
• Study 2: Narrativity (Story) and perceived Effort moderated the effect for sensory judgments (Liking, Beauty).
• Personal attitudes toward AI moderated effects for communicative judgments (Profundity, Worth), indicating a negative bias against AI art.

Conclusions:

• People exhibit a negative bias against AI-created artworks compared to those labeled as human-created.
• The perception of human engagement, effort, and narrative contributes to higher art appraisals.
• Understanding the human element in art creation significantly impacts its perceived value.