The Intersect: Art in Tech and Tech in Art - Slow Looking, Fast Tech: How AI is Reshaping Creativity

Greetings from Juergen

Hi everyone,

This week, I’ve curated stories that explore how artists and creators are navigating the nuanced intersection of AI tools and artistic expression. From Felipe Posada’s vibrant digital collages that bring 70s surrealism into the AI era to legal questions about creativity and copyright, we’re looking at how technology is reshaping the process of making and defining art.

Also, this issue touches on the evolving role of photography in the age of AI—how we’re learning to balance skepticism with appreciation—and a thought-provoking piece on "slow looking" as a counter to our image-saturated culture. These stories are an invitation to pause, reflect, and consider the possibilities when art and technology collaborate.

Subscribe to "The Intersect: Art in Tech and Tech in Art" podcast to hear these stories reimagined in audio form, bringing fresh insights to your favorite topics each week.

Technology in Music

The Beatles Make History With AI-assisted Grammy Win for ‘Now and Then’

The Beatles have made history yet again. As detailed in ReadWrite’s coverage, their AI-assisted track “Now and Then” earned them a Grammy for Best Rock Performance at the 2025 ceremony. This isn’t about AI composing music or generating Lennon’s voice. Instead, the AI-assisted process allowed producers to isolate and clean up John Lennon’s original vocals from the 1970s. It’s a demonstration of AI as a practical tool for tedious, technical work like audio restoration—something unimaginable decades ago.

What fascinates me is the potential this holds for preserving cultural heritage. Imagine applying these tools to restore historic recordings, like the early operas of Caruso, where audio quality is often poor. This isn’t about altering history but rather bringing its essence back to audiences in ways we couldn’t before.

“AI isn’t a creator here—it’s a facilitator for preservation and restoration. That distinction matters more than most realize.”

Do you think AI could be key to safeguarding our creative history?

AI in Visual Arts

70’s Era Surrealist Scenes by Felipe Posada

Artist Felipe Posada, working under the moniker "The Invisible Realm," brings the vivacious spirit of the 1970s into surrealist digital collages that defy reality. As featured on Moss and Fog, Posada combines instantly recognizable elements—vintage fashions, rainbow motifs, and idyllic leisure scenes—with surreal distortions. His work stands at the intersection of nostalgia and innovation, crafting dreamscapes that feel both rooted in the past and forward-thinking.

What makes Posada’s process remarkable is his seamless integration of AI tools with digital artistry. It’s not just about automating creative tasks; it’s about using these tools as an extension of human creativity.

"Posada’s work exemplifies how AI in art isn’t a shortcut but a medium—one that, when paired with a clear artistic vision, can result in something wholly unique and deeply personal."

Does Posada’s approach redefine where the line falls between digital tools and artistic authorship?

In Depth: On My Substack Blog

The State of AI in the Arts Report: Artists, Technologists, and a Search for Common Ground

Earlier this week on The Intersect Substack, I launched “The State of AI in the Arts Report 2023”, an in-depth look at how artificial intelligence is reshaping the art world. This report dives into everything from the tech’s impact on artistic creation to its role in market shifts and the thorny questions of ethics and authorship. It’s a resource for anyone navigating the intersection of creativity and technology—artists, collectors, technologists, and beyond.

What struck me most in putting this together is the growing polarization between traditional artists, cultural institutions, and tech creators. Each group seems locked in its own perspective, often at the expense of real dialogue.

“Traditional artists I speak with often shut down at the mere mention of AI. ‘I work with paper, with paint, with my hands,’ they tell me. ‘AI has nothing to do with real art.’”

How much are we losing by staying in our silos instead of exploring the possibilities together?

Photography

What Is Realism in the Age of AI?

In a recent piece from Art in America, the article "What Is Realism in the Age of AI?" questions what "real" even means in an era where generative models create and alter images with ease. It’s an idea that feels particularly resonant in today’s image-saturated world, where nearly everyone manipulates photos—whether by adding a filter or crafting something entirely new with AI tools.

What strikes me is how our relationship with photography has evolved. We’re not naive anymore; we know images can be manipulated, and many of us have contributed to that manipulation ourselves. Yet, this awareness hasn’t fully eroded our trust in photography. Instead, we seem to hold two ideas at once: skepticism and appreciation.

"Viewers don’t necessarily approach images expecting visual transcripts of reality, but neither have they become fully disillusioned of photography’s promise to preserve a moment. Savviness and disavowal proceed together."

So, where does this leave the artist? Are we leaning into this duality or resisting it?

Artificial Intelligence and Creativity

AI Art With Human “Expressive Elements” Can Be Copyrighted

The latest report from the U.S. Copyright Office, as covered by Hyperallergic, reexamines copyright protection for works involving AI tools. It concludes that artworks demonstrating "sufficient human creativity" can be copyrighted, provided humans determine or modify the expressive elements. This builds on earlier rulings, like the rejection of Jason M. Allen's Théâtre d'Opéra Spatial, which was deemed more attributable to MidJourney than his own creative input.

The distinction between AI-assisted art and AI-generated art is critical, especially as tools like MidJourney and others blur these boundaries. If an artist uses AI as a tool—intentionally shaping, refining, or editing the outcome—that’s collaboration. But merely typing prompts? That’s delegation, not authorship. In my opinion, manipulating, combining, or assembling the results of generated images from prompts to further achieve artistic goals may be sufficient to qualify as art.

"Expressive elements" hinge on whether a human’s fingerprints are visible in the final output—a question that invites more nuance than legal standards often allow.

But the question of if this results in "good art" or not is an entirely different one...

Definitely Not AI

This Year, Make a Commitment to Understanding Your World Better: Practise the Art of Slow Looking

In a recent article for The Conversation, the importance of "slow looking" was highlighted as a way to navigate our overstimulated visual culture. With manipulated and AI-generated images increasingly dominating our screens, the practice of pausing to truly see—whether art on a wall or visuals in daily life—has never been more crucial.

Here’s my take: rushing through a museum—or life, for that matter—robs us of the depth that only time and attention can uncover. It’s not just about identifying what an image is, but asking what it feels like and why. Slowing down transforms a gaze into an experience, and yes, that includes the mundane moments, like noticing the shadows cast by your coffee mug.

“The act of slow looking develops visual literacy. It examines why certain images move us above others and what they say about our reality, values or beliefs.” – The Conversation

What would happen if we approached everyday life with the same kind of thoughtful attention we reserve for a Rembrandt?

Fashion

Surreal Fashion AI Imagery Created by Sarah Radcliff

Sarah Radcliff’s stunning AI-generated fashion photography, highlighted in Partfaliaz, is reshaping our understanding of both surrealism and haute couture. Her work, which combines dreamlike aesthetics with avant-garde fashion, blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy. By leveraging AI, Radcliff creates images that feel like high-fashion editorials but exist in an entirely imagined, digital space. It’s a fascinating intersection of creativity and technology that deserves attention.

Fashion photography has always walked a fine line between commerce and art. Historically, while its primary purpose might have been to sell products, it has also shaped cultural narratives and provided a platform for pushing artistic and societal boundaries. Today, with tools like AI, that line feels even blurrier, offering opportunities for deeper exploration and experimentation.

Fashion photography’s role has always been dual: to persuade and to provoke. Yet, as Radcliff’s work shows, it can also be a space where art and technology collaborate to challenge our perception of the possible.

If fashion photography is no longer confined to the material world, what does it mean for the future of fashion itself?

The Last Word

Thanks for taking the time to engage with these stories. Your curiosity and willingness to explore these intersections mean a lot to me. If any of these topics sparked a thought or raised a question, I’d love to hear from you—what’s your take on AI’s role in art?

Let’s keep this conversation going. Together, we can continue to uncover the evolving relationship between creativity and technology, and maybe even challenge some of the assumptions we hold about both.

Warm regards, Juergen