A 1968 newspaper predicted today's AI art debate almost word for word
mtizard · x · 2026-10-16
A shared clipping from the Minneapolis Tribune (May 26, 1968), 'It's Computer Art,' reads like a prototype of today's AI art debates.
- Prof. Leslie Mezei of the University of Toronto argued computers 'will not usurp the creativity or originality of the artist' but give artists 'another tool to work with — one with more power, versatility and challenge than the brush'
- He also asked whether museums would become 'electronic control centers' beaming displays to the outer world — and whether those displays would be 'electronically generated masterpieces'
- The same article documents the Met using an IBM System/360 with a light pen to classify 2,000 ancient pottery artifacts
Nearly 60 years later, the tool-vs-replacement and 'is AI art a masterpiece' arguments are replaying almost verbatim.
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