Untimely Reflections #26: Andrei Georgescu (Artiexus) - Seedless Flowers & Materialist Theories of Creativity

Dec 12, 2023

Andrei Georgescu, a writer, graphic designer, and podcaster, discusses the public reaction to AI-generated art and challenges the belief that creativity must come from a being with a soul. They explore the 'ugly duckling' theory of art and the dismissal of beautiful works produced by AI. The conversation moves to theories about art as communication, the origins of linguistic communication, and mapping the logical structures of language. They also touch on Nietzsche's perspective on consciousness and the limitations of perception.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

The Ambition for Constant Improvement

02:23 • 26min

Exploring the Soul, Machines, and the Purpose of Art

28:05 • 4min

Exploring the Distinction Between Artists and Artistic Mercenaries

32:02 • 26min

Discovering Hidden Relationships through Word Embeddings

58:06 • 8min

Whales' Reactions and the Impact of Human Communication

01:05:47 • 3min

Exploring Split Brain Research, Language, and Self-Consciousness

01:08:43 • 5min

The Irrationality of Human Beliefs and Communication Reflecting the Real World

01:13:51 • 8min

The Bicameral Mind and Controlling Thoughts

01:21:39 • 16min

The Evolution of Consciousness and Nietzsche's Perspective

01:37:57 • 12min

Scientific Theories and Perception

01:49:39 • 21min

I'd originally planned to launch into Deleuze this week, but I'm busy playing shows all weekend and decided to release this instead. I think this was a great episode, perhaps one of the best Untimely Reflections yet.

Andrei Georgescu is an old friend of the show. He's a writer, a graphic designer, and a podcaster. A few months ago, he published an essay called, "Seedless Flowers: Artificial Intelligence and Creativity Fetishism", in which he analyzes the public reaction to art created by artificial intelligence, and the popular prejudices about creativity. Artists tend to believe that creativity is something which has to come from a being with a soul, treating it as a magical happening that is somehow beyond the material reality. A.I. art challenges that viewpoint, demonstrating the possibility of creativity coming from a collection of metal and wires. We discuss the "ugly duckling" theory of art, in which we value the effort that went into the piece over the final product or the quality of the piece. Such ideas compel us to dismiss beautiful works that were produced or aided by artificial intelligence, while holding up sub-par works as 'true art'. Our conversation about art takes us into my theories about art as communication, the origins of linguistic communication, the possibility of mapping the logical structures of languages. Towards the end of the episode, we take a look at the passage of Nietzsche's from The Gay Science, entitled, "The Genius of the Species", and argue over the importance of consciousness.

We originally recorded a discussion about the article a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, fate was unkind and our first conversation about it was lost. I really kicked myself over that one, since it was my fault. Nevertheless, the timing was right to attempt it again, and I think we had a fascinating conversation.
You can find some excellent video essays on his Youtube Channel, @Artiexus: https://www.youtube.com/@artiexus
Andrei's article, the jumping-off point for this conversation: https://andreigeorgescu.ca/seedless-flowers-artificial-intelligence-and-creativity-fetishism/

Episode art: Prayer by Andrei Georgescu