Since the invention of early automation machines, humans have grappled with the challenge of how to work alongside machines and how to think about the displacement of speciality that often follows their invention. While we have come to expect increasing automation for a whole range of tasks, its explosion over the past year into more creative fields has forced us to face the question at the heart of these debates — what about us?
If artificial intelligence can not just replicate mundane tasks, but creative ones too, what is left that’s uniquely human? It raises the question whether AI is a rival, a new paintbrush, or even some sort of co-pilot or collaborator?
In this special issue, we will talk to the technologists on the forefront of building these new tools, the artists embracing these new modes of collaboration, and other experts who will help us understand what is coming and how the world will change as a result.
