WHAT IS HUMAN CREATIVITY WORTH IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

Artificial intelligence can now write texts, compose music, generate photographs and create designs in just a few seconds. As technology continues to push the boundaries of what is possible, an increasingly important question emerges: what makes human creativity special, and can the value of artistic work be reduced to the final result alone?

HEDONIST magazine revisits one of the events that sparked debate about the relationship between art and technology. In 2018, the portrait Edmond de Belamy, created with the assistance of an algorithm, was sold at Christie's auction house in New York for $432,500.

The sale demonstrated that artwork produced with the help of artificial intelligence could attract considerable attention and command a high price on the art market. At the same time, it raised questions about authorship, originality and who deserves recognition for the work involved in creating such pieces.

Similar dilemmas have emerged in photography and music. AI-generated images have won awards, while digitally created voices resembling those of famous musicians have demonstrated how easily artificial intelligence can produce content that audiences might mistake for the real thing.

FASTER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE, BUT IS IT MORE ORIGINAL?

One of the greatest advantages of artificial intelligence is its ability to accelerate the creative process and make tools accessible to a much wider range of people.

However, content that appears convincing is not necessarily original. Research suggests that artificial intelligence can help individuals develop more creative ideas, but that the results produced by different people using these tools can also become increasingly similar.

This raises an important question: does technology encourage creativity, or does it subtly steer us towards content that is already familiar, accepted and expected?

TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING ART, BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO ELIMINATE IT

The fear that new technology will threaten traditional forms of creativity is nothing new. The invention of photography once raised concerns among painters, yet it also opened the door to new artistic movements and different forms of expression.

A similar transformation took place in watchmaking. More precise and affordable quartz movements reshaped the market, while mechanical watches retained their value through craftsmanship, tradition and the time invested in their production.

These examples demonstrate that technological progress does not necessarily erase the value of human work. Sometimes, the very things machines can replace become even more highly valued by people.

HUMAN EXPERIENCE AS A MEASURE OF VALUE

Although artificial intelligence can produce a text or melody that evokes emotions, an important question remains: is an artwork simply what we see and hear, or does the story behind it matter just as much?

Sevdalinka, the traditional urban folk song associated with Bosnia and Herzegovina, is more than a combination of melody and lyrics. Its value often lies in lived experience, memory, loss and the emotions conveyed by the performer to the audience.

This is precisely where an opportunity emerges to reflect on the limits of technology. Human creativity is not based solely on technical skill, but also on personal experience, intention, risk and the willingness to express something that is not already known or predictable.

WHO IS BEHIND THE WORK?

The development of artificial intelligence is also changing how authorship and responsibility are understood. When a work is created with the assistance of an algorithm, questions arise about who its author is, who deserves recognition and who is accountable for its content.

The debate surrounding artificial intelligence is therefore not simply about what technology can do, but also about how society values human contribution.

Perhaps the most important question is not what humans can still do better than machines, but why it matters to us who is behind a particular creation.

In a world where texts, images and music can be generated in seconds, the distinctive value of human creativity may increasingly lie in authenticity, personal experience and the responsibility of the creator.

The result may be convincing, but the story of who created it and why may still be what gives it its unique value.