Abstract
The rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) platforms, capable of producing creative outputs indistinguishable from human-generated content, has triggered significant epistemological and aesthetic anxieties. This paper proposes a two-part inquiry into contemporary responses to AI-generated content, focusing on implications for human identity, authenticity, and knowledge production. First, the presentation addresses the existential challenge AI poses to Romantic conceptions of creativity, wherein human individuality, authenticity, and spirituality have historically intersected to grant artistic works their transcendent status. This portion explores the cultural resistance emerging from audiences who perceive AI-generated works as devoid of intrinsic human value, effectively stripping art of its Romantic “soul.” Second, employing a research framework around human evaluations of AI-authored narratives, this project critically assesses audience biases toward AI-produced content, highlighting scenarios where such narratives are rated highly—until the authorship is disclosed. Drawing insights from comparative aesthetics, literary theory, and philosophy of technology, this inquiry evaluates whether contemporary reactions to AI derive primarily from entrenched human exceptionalism, shaped by Romanticism and post-Enlightenment epistemologies. Ultimately, the analysis considers industry implications as AI-generated agents become increasingly central to scholarly, religious, and creative workflows, interrogating the boundaries between human originality and synthetic intelligence.
Presenters
James HutsonDepartment Head, Art History, AI, and Visual Culture, Lindenwood University, Missouri, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Generative AI, Romanticism, Human Identity, Authenticity, Human-Computer Interaction
