Believe it or not, artificial intelligence art has a history — and not just within the last two years.
In fact, the history AI-generated art goes back to the computer stone age of the 1960s, when artist Harold Cohen asked the question: "What is the minimum condition under which a set of marks functions as an image?"
To answer that question, Cohen worked on a program that he named Aaron, refining his question until his death in 2016.
Aaron, it turns out, created some fascinating art — nothing like today's AI models that use and manipulate existing images. Instead, Aaron draws somewhat abstract, but completely believable, art from scratch.
You can watch Aaron create art at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art until June 2024.
