David beats Goliath with AI
March 1 2027
There was a time when big business was the only game in town, and you needed scale, capital, buildings, and a small army of people to have real success. Even Silicon Valley start-ups quickly ran into hefty resource constraints, once their initial idea was proved. Without money, engineers, sales teams, servers and offices, you were a nonstarter. Fail fast, they said, and they usually did.
And then things changed. Companies such as Amazon provided virtual servers in the cloud, on demand. Broadband internet made remote work commercially feasible, and “free” services from Google, Facebook and Twitter made it easy to market yourself with minimal outlay. Venture capitalists poured capital into the process, and soon the tech start-up ecosystem was pumping out unicorns.
But you still had to cross the chasm from innovative idea to booming business, and many start-ups crashed and burnt. They still do. Except now it’s even easier to challenge the big guys. The plethora of artificial intelligence (AI) tools that have been developed since the launch of ChatGPT has changed the game, again.
From research and analysis to ideation, testing, iteration, simulation — even coding, AI platforms and agents have supercharged start-ups beyond a team of talented individuals. With the ability to generate documentation, prototype renders, collateral, visuals and complete videos, small companies can compete with established corporations with dedicated departments. In fact, zero legacy becomes a huge advantage.
Now, intelligent platforms such as MakeGPT, connected directly to 3D printers and additive manufacturing facilities, can produce creatively designed products and personalised items for consumers, allowing microenterprises to compete on the global high street. Established brands are right to feel nervous, as luxury goods are set to be usurped by a new wave of “exclusive” designs for anyone and everyone.
With smarter tools, start-ups rule! /First published on Mindbullets February 29 2024
PUTTING THE ‘ART’ IN ‘ARTIFICIAL’
March 30 2026
In another unprecedented first for AI, an AI-controlled robot arm created an artwork that sold for millions of dollars at an auction in New York this week. The painting, created by a robot arm trained using a deep-learning algorithm, was titled Rhapsody in Blue and has raised a number of legal and ethical questions about ownership rights and who should receive the proceeds of the sale. Some argue those who wrote the code that trained the AI model are the rightful owners, while others believe those who designed and built the robot arm should receive the proceeds.
In response, the auction house announced the establishment of a special fund to support the development of AI in the arts. The fund will provide grants to artists and researchers working in the field of AI-generated art, as well as to organisations working on AI ethics and regulation.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s art forgery unit also raised concerns about the model’s potential to create fakes that could fool even the toughest of experts. With a machine’s ability to exactly match brushstrokes, pressure, colour and style, the nuances of human inaccuracies, which for decades have been the basis of forgery detection, goes out of the window.
Concerns were also raised about the potential for AI to replace human artists, and whether the creation of art by machines diminishes the value of human creativity. Critics have argued that the sale of the painting is a clear indication of the increasing dominance of machines in areas traditionally reserved for human ingenuity.
Nonprofit Advocates for AI in the Arts (Afaita) argued that the technology will expand human creativity by providing new opportunities for artistic expression. “The AI algorithm used [to train the robot arm] was based on the work of human artists — the machines are only augmenting and enhancing what we, as humans, are able to create, they can’t replace it,” said Afaita chair Marc Stephenson.
As the debate over the ownership and value of AI-created art continues, one thing is clear: The intersection of technology and art is shifting, and the implications for both the art world and society are significant. The sale of Rhapsody in Blue marks a major turning point in the art world — just another way AI is disrupting creative industries.