Why Art is Being Killed by the Algorithm

In the age of digital proliferation, algorithms have permeated every facet of our lives, including the sacred realm of art. While these computational formulas have revolutionised the way we interact with the world, they also pose a significant threat to the organic nature of human creativity. Art is being killed by the algorithm, its pure essence and soul is being stripped and homogenised to generic conformity and banality.

Art, in its purest form, is an expression of the human experience, unbounded by rules or constraints. It is a reflection of the artist’s innermost thoughts, emotions, and perspectives. The creative process is inherently organic, often unpredictable, and deeply personal. It is this unpredictability and personal touch that gives art its unique power to move, challenge, and inspire.

Our art is satire, and it is unfortunate that the makers of these algorithms have not factored in the Juvenalian satire of the Daily Squib in their clinical digital blinkered tunnel-vision algorithm world. There is simply no understanding or accommodation for the free-form creativity and wild nature of true satire that we employ. Satire has existed amongst human civilisation since Babylonian and Ancient Greek times and yet the algorithmic matrix deployed by conglomerate monopolies has sought to completely destroy our artistic satirical expressions with calculated vehemence, even labelling our works with the catch-all term of ‘fake news‘.

The rise of cold, harsh and brutal algorithm-driven platforms has led to a commodification of art. Algorithms are designed to categorise, predict, and streamline processes for efficiency and profitability. In the art world, this translates to a preference for works that fit neatly into predefined boxes and categories, often determined by data-driven insights into consumer preferences. The danger here is twofold: it stifles the diversity of artistic expression and pressures artists to conform to what is ‘trending’ or ‘marketable,’ rather than encouraging them to explore the depths of their own creativity.

Moreover, algorithms lack the nuanced understanding of context and emotion that human curators possess. They can recommend art based on similarity in style, colour, or subject, but they cannot grasp the intangible qualities that give a piece its soul. The result is a homogenisation of art, where the unique and the avant-garde are overshadowed by the familiar and the formulaic. All forms of art must be free, and not constrained to predisposed algorithmic computations that strip the very essence and soul from the unique creations. The avant-garde wild nature of some artists and their creations must be preserved and celebrated, rather than marginalised and effectively discarded by these algorithms that simply cannot quantify the true nature of art.

The reliance on algorithms also undermines the serendipity of discovery. Part of the joy of art is stumbling upon something unexpected, something that challenges our preconceived notions and expands our horizons.

When algorithms filter our choices to match our existing tastes, they create echo chambers that limit our exposure to new and different forms of expression. When everything you see is the expected and the same, it creates apathy and ennui in the viewer. These same echo-chambers are now reflected in the harsh human-factory of social media, which is dominantly processed by algorithms that effectively limit humanity and seek to control behaviour en masse.

True art and creativity are essentially being killed and throttled by these algorithms. While algorithms have the potential to democratise access to art by making it more widely available, they also risk diminishing the very essence of what makes art so powerful and unique as an expression of humanity and creativity.