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“Freedom must not be sold for all the gold in the world.” — Horace
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the role of the contemporary artist has become more indispensable than ever. I would summarize this role in a single phrase: “To transform the human into the sacred.” This means elevating the intrinsic value of the human being — especially the individual person — to a status of absolute dignity, inviolable and deserving of profound respect. And that is no small task.
This concept aligns with the Christian vision, which holds that human beings are sacred because they bear the divine image. Transforming the human into the sacred means recognizing that human dignity does not depend on function, ability, or usefulness, but rather on the very essence of the human being endowed with reason. Human beings are sacred because of their capacity to seek freedom. To sacralize the human person is to guarantee a just social order. Therefore, transforming the human into the sacred is not merely an ideal, but a moral imperative that entails protecting life, promoting freedom, and rejecting every form of instrumentalization of the person.
The role of the contemporary artist in the age of AI has evolved into that of a figure who integrates, questions, and collaborates with technology. In this role, the artist transforms from an individual creator into a curator, programmer, and co-author of hybrid artistic processes. The artist no longer acts alone; algorithms become creative tools. We see examples in artists such as Refik Anadol and Mario Klingemann, whose works demonstrate how AI can generate images, sounds, or texts that the artist then guides, selects, and imbues with meaning. In this context, the artist defines the intention, context, and form, while AI expands visual and technical possibilities.
Artificial Intelligence makes it possible to create works unimaginable through traditional means — dreamlike landscapes, hybrid portraits, or generative music. The creator becomes a pioneer of experimentation, exploring what happens when human creativity intertwines with machine learning. Faced with the automation of creation, the contemporary artist interrogates authorship, originality, and emotion. As Damon Albarn has pointed out, AI may imitate forms, but it cannot replace the “artist’s journey” nor emotional depth. The artist’s role therefore includes defending the value of effort, intention, and human experience in art.
Artists such as Egor Kraft and Klingemann use AI to challenge notions of authenticity, collective memory, and algorithmic bias. Works such as *A.I.C.C.A., which “defecates” art criticism, ironically comment on the role of AI as a cultural judge, reminding us that the artist remains the one who asks the questions — sometimes uncomfortable ones. The contemporary creator thus becomes a hybrid figure: artist, programmer, and thinker, working at the intersection of art, science, and technology. This fusion opens the door to new formats: immersive installations, real-time generative art, and global collaborative projects.
This article may appear somewhat anachronistic, or perhaps out of place. Yet at the moment in which it was inspired, one can already discern in the distance a transcendental transformation in human societies as we have known them until now. On the horizon emerge the first signs of what we dare to call the space economy.
Abate Bussoni
* A.I.C.C.A. (Artificially Intelligent Critical Canine) is a robotic dog capable of exploring spaces such as galleries, museums, and art fairs, then producing and “defecating” short texts about the works it encounters. A.I.C.C.A., an automaton artist for the age of AI, combines retro aesthetics with complex algorithms, ChatGPT, and ironic humor to generate conversations. It reflects Mario Klingemann’s longstanding fascination with the intersection of art and technology, while also marking a new step in his practice through the incorporation of robotics for the first time. The result is a furry provocateur that invites debate about AI, the role of robots, and even what it means to possess a critical eye.