This has prompted Turkish-American digital artist Refik Anadol to open a museum devoted exclusively to this technological innovation in Los Angeles, USA.
This new art museum, dubbed Dataland, is scheduled to open its doors in late 2025, in a new complex located near the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), the Broad museum and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
It will be housed in a 1,800 sq-m building designed by Gensler Architects and Arup, a sustainable development consultancy, reports Artnet news.
Indeed, artificial intelligence requires a lot of energy to operate. In a report published on Jan 24, the International Energy Agency estimates that the electricity consumed by data centres worldwide is expected to double by 2026, mainly due to the rise of AI.
To limit the environmental impact of its future museum, Artnet News reports that Refik Anadol has approached Google to find alternative energy sources to fossil fuels.
With Dataland, Refik Anadol aims to highlight the beneficial aspects of artificial intelligence for human expression. With this in mind, the artist asserts that his new museum will promote the ethical use of AI.
“I don’t believe machines should be the only creators. It’s a horrible future if you just let the machines do creative work,” he told The Guardian.
AI-made art: a market in its infancy
Dataland’s inaugural exhibits will be created using the Large Nature Model, an open-source tool that brings together data from the Smithsonian Institution, the UK’s Natural History Museum and other leading cultural institutions.
“Blending art, technology, and nature, our model aims to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire innovative solutions by finding connections among isolated archives,” reads the museum’s website.
For the time being, Dataland is a private art establishment. Admission will therefore be charged. But Refik Anadol is not ruling out the possibility of turning it into a not-for-profit institution, if he can find patrons. It’s a safe bet that he will, given the growing enthusiasm for art created by artificial intelligence.
Collectors are increasingly interested in these new works of art, even if their curiosity doesn’t always translate into sales. In fact, 29% of those surveyed by insurer Hiscox as part of its “Art and AI” report are considering buying an AI-generated artwork, while 2% have already done so.
The AI-generated art market has struggled to take off since the 2018 sale of “Portrait of Edmond de Belamy,” an AI-generated artwork, for US$432,500 at Christie’s in New York.
However, Hiscox has found that it is gaining momentum thanks to auctions of works by artists that are embracing the technology, such as Sougwen Chung, Mario Klingemann, Harold Cohen, Anna Ridler, Obvious, Claire Silver and Roope Rainisto.