Working with A.I. in artistic practice raises many important questions. 

How to protect the intellectual rights of artists participating in your projects?
  Will participants be able to retain their moral rights?
 Is A.I. copying and stealing artists' designs? 
 How can art and artists benefit from the use of A.I.? In fact, who will benefit from training an A.I. on images of artistic works? 
 What are the rules and boundaries to be set when working with A.I. in arts? 
 Won't the generated output emulate and plagiarize artists? 
 What about authorship? 
 Why create something that is artificial and not human? 
 How do I know this A.I. won’t be used to design jewellery instead of me? 
  … 

In response to our projects, numerous challenging and urgent questions have been raised, with some stating that A.I. is inherently detrimental, advocating against its use.

Nevertheless, A.I. developments are advancing. Fast. And we believe in the significance of exploring A.I. within the field of jewellery through practice-based research to figure out how to engage with it critically, creatively and sustainably.

Through a myriad of activities including participatory projects, lectures, artistic experiments, writings, and exhibitions, we aim to investigate both the opportunities and threats that A.I. presents to the domain of jewellery. We wish to inspire thoughtful questions, stimulate reflections on contemporary issues, and foster greater awareness of the future roles of A.I. within jewellery.

Some of the ongoing discussions surrounding A.I. in the fields of fine arts and graphic design are equally applicable to the domain of jewellery (such as questions of authorship). Moreover, unique considerations arise when working with A.I. in jewellery, including aspects of human-centred design, materiality and wearability. Addressing and contemplating these themes constitutes a key contribution that this research seeks to make to the discourse on jewellery. 

Through collaborative efforts involving numerous human and other-than-human participants, among which A.I., we explore novel approaches for jewellery, aiming to develop concepts, methodologies and flexible frameworks for more-than-human adornment practices.

Working with images of other artists’ pieces as material for the Ornamutations and Ornamisms as new, collective creations, further complicates issues of ownership, copyright, and the roles of artists and designers.  

In all our undertakings, we strive to discern and implement best practices for working with A.I. and other artists' works. For instance, at the start of our first project, Ornamutations (2021), we consulted with legal professionals specializing in A.I. and artistic practices. Collaborating with these experts, we formulated guidelines and agreements to ensure ethical and sustainable utilization of A.I. in our participatory projects. The current iteration of these guidelines is encapsulated in the Ornamisms participation document. 

We utilize small, creative A.I., developing datasets ourselves from images voluntarily shared by participants within the context of our projects. All the submitted photos, along with their designated information, are published on our website which serves not only as a platform displaying the datasets of our artistic project but also functions as a showcase for contemporary jewellery, contributing to the global visibility of artists and designers. The image collections (datasets) that we gather in collab with participants worldwide serve for training machine learning algorithms, with the coding done ourselves. 

We strive to provide participants with comprehensive information about the nature of our projects and highly value their feedback and critical inquiries. Open dialogue is a core principle for us, and to foster this, we actively engage in conversations. This includes initiatives such as hosting an online conference on A.I. and jewellery with speakers from various fields as well as Ornamutations participants, appearing in a podcast to talk about our research, participating in a debate questioning whether A.I. signifies 'the death of the artist', or being interviewed for an article on how A.I. is revolutionizing the jewellery industry. These are some examples illustrating our efforts to contribute to a deeper understanding of A.I. within the jewellery domain and to encourage critical reflection.

As A.I. offers both opportunities and poses challenges and risks, it becomes crucial to consider various sides and perspectives. Today, issues concerning A.I. and art, copyright, ownership of A.I.-generated content… ignite heated and urgent debates. And rightly so. We make a concerted effort to stay informed about these evolving developments. Despite being a few years old and the rapid pace of advancements in this field, we still find this booklet valuable in guiding our work with A.I. in artistic practice. 

All Artificial Intelligems projects are initiated and developed by founders Anneleen Swillen and/or Greg Scheirlinckx, in collaboration with people engaged in a variety of domains such as jewellery design, music composition, data engineering, curation, fine arts, graphic design and dance. We are not a commercial entity seeking financial gain from other artists' works, nor are we 'the industry'. It is not our intention to exploit artists and their works in any way. We are artists/researchers/curators/educators/writers…, who wish to enter into playful yet critical dialogues with different visions to create knowledges (yes, plural), which can take on many forms and be meaningful for those who are active within, as well as beyond, the domains of art, design, fashion, jewellery… and A.I. We aim to question, research, and contribute to contemporary debates and developments concerning artistic and designerly practices in a (post-)digital age. 

By tackling fundamental concepts integral to jewellery, such as wearability, materiality and manufacturing processes, this research does not attempt to overturn age-old traditional values and skills. Instead, it aims to create openings for diverse and daring perspectives, exploring how different views can co-exist and interact to broaden understandings and push boundaries within the field of jewellery. We wonder what A.I. has to offer for the domain of jewellery in terms of exciting opportunities, while recognizing potential dangers that require careful consideration. Conversely, we also explore how the domain of jewellery, with its keen eye for detail, sensitivity, and more-than-human connections, can contribute to and enrich developments in A.I.

We are looking forward to keep challenging these fields and ourselves.

So, thank you for asking difficult questions. Please keep doing so. 

Writing in progress, as these issues are continuously evolving.
 Do you want to contribute to this conversation? Share your thoughts on these matters? Participate in the research? 
 Get in touch via artificialintelligems@gmail.com or use the blue or yellow sticky notes which you can find top left of this webpage.