That time my 8th grader told me AI art 'isn't real because it has no mistakes'

Last Thursday in my classroom, one of my students (Maya, age 13) said that AI art can't be real art because it never has happy accidents like Bob Ross did. I pointed out that plenty of AI generators make weird fingers or garbled text, but she argued those are glitches, not creative choices. She said real art comes from someone deciding to leave a smudge or a crooked line on purpose. I'm stuck wondering if the intent behind a mistake is what makes it art or if the final image just speaks for itself - what do you all think?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_hall1d ago

Honestly, does a mistake only count if someone meant to make it?

kim.wren1d ago

Well then I guess I've never actually done the dishes wrong in my entire life. Every time I put a nonstick pan in the dishwasher I just had a different goal in mind. And that time I backed into the mailbox, clearly my car was just exploring a new parking technique. It's a convenient little loophole, really. Just tell the judge you didn't mean to run that red light and see how far that gets you.