{"id":11023,"date":"2025-03-31T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/uncategorized\/painting-with-thoughts\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:14:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:14:40","slug":"painting-with-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/hai-magazine-4\/painting-with-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udd12 Painting with thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Magda \u017buk:<\/strong> Obvious became well-known in 2018 due to an auction at New York’s Christie\u2019s, where <\/strong>the Portrait<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>of Edmond de Belamy was sold.<\/em><\/strong>. How did it happen that you, together with Pierre Fautrel and Gauthier Vernier, created a collective that made the front pages of newspapers?<\/strong><\/p>

Hugo Caselles-Dupr\u00e9:<\/strong> Obvious is primarily a story of our friendship, which began in our childhood. At one point, we decided to do something creative together. We were both 25 years old, and I had just started researching machine learning and artificial intelligence. Then I came across an article about GAN (Generative Adversarial Networks). The results we could achieve with these algorithms completely surprised us. We understood that AI can be a tool for creating art, but important questions also arose.Who is the artist in this process? What does it actually mean to create using algorithms? We wanted to spark a discussion, so we created the series La Famille de Belamy<\/em> \u2013 portraits generated by AI, each signed with the mathematical formula of the algorithm that created it. This was meant to challenge the traditional understanding of authorship. <\/p>

The project quickly caught the attention of art collectors, and Christie’s auction house offered to exhibit one of the portraits for sale in New York. We agreed, and then everything picked up pace. Media around the world wrote about the Portrait of Edmond de Belamy<\/em>, the first piece of art created by AI that was sold at auction. <\/p>

M\u017b: How has the perception of AI-generated art changed since then?<\/strong><\/p>

HCD: <\/strong>The last few years have brought enormous changes. When we started, we primarily wanted to show that algorithms can generate images \u2013 in 2018, this was completely incomprehensible to many people. Today, millions of people use tools like <\/strong>ChatGPT or Midjourney, making it easier to understand what our work involved and the mechanisms behind it.<\/p>

Many people are already seeing the value in creating AI art, though they haven’t become used to this technology yet. It is still worth reminding about Edmond de Belamy and other works generated by artificial intelligence, as well as about the artists who create them. People need to understand that this is not just a fleeting trend, but a new current in art. AI won’t replace artists, just as photography didn’t replace painting. It’s just another tool that expands the creative possibilities. <\/p>

M\u017b:<\/strong> Your latest project, Mind-to-Image, uses artificial intelligence and fMRI data to visualize human imagination. Why did you decide to move away from generating images based on existing data and focus on “painting with thoughts”, so to speak? It kind of sounds like science fiction! <\/strong><\/p>

HCD:<\/strong> It might sound like that, but research on mind reading is progressing incredibly fast today. We believe that within the next 5-10 years, devices will emerge that will allow direct access to human thoughts. This could completely change human relations. <\/p>

We use art to pose key questions. Would you be willing to connect your phone directly to your brain? Will we be ready to accept such tools in the next few years? What happens if your child makes a certain decision because technology suggests it? These are not abstract issues, but real dilemmas of the future that we should be discussing now. This is how we see our mission \u2013 we want to spread knowledge and invite discussions about the applications of artificial intelligence and its impact on society. <\/p>

M\u017b: Tell us about this project, please.<\/strong><\/p>

HCD:<\/strong> A few years ago, we became interested in research on fMRI technology, which allows AI algorithms to reconstruct images seen by people during magnetic resonance imaging. We thought: what if instead of actual images, we tried to visualize imaginations? <\/p>

So far, AI relied on existing data \u2013 images, texts, patterns. But technology is evolving. In our project, we wanted to go beyond that pattern and recreate thoughts in real time. We conducted research for several years, and in 2023, we opened our own lab, Obvious Lab, in collaboration with the Sorbonne and with the support of the French National Research Agency. This allowed us to fund the expensive MRI sessions \u2013 each hour costs about 300 euros. <\/p>

This project proves that AI can be a tool for genuine expression, not just a mix of existing content. We often hear that AI art is just a remix. We show that with its assistance, we can capture something characteristic of humans \u2013 thoughts that have never existed before in any database. <\/p>

M\u017b: How do you approach the issue of ethics in AI art?<\/strong><\/p>

HCD:<\/strong> This is one of the key topics in the discussion about AI and art. Many significant questions arise. Can a work created by an algorithm be copyrighted? Can it really be considered original? What data are used in the creative process? <\/p>

In our projects, we always ensure that we have permission to use the data. But looking at the bigger picture \u2013 we believe that if an algorithm is trained on billions of images, it can generate something truly original.The problem arises when AI is used in an unthoughtful way. If someone types “a landscape in the style of Van Gogh” into the generator, they are giving the machine too literal an instruction. The key is how we use these tools. You can’t just blame the technology \u2013 the responsibility always rests with the user. Proper use of AI can lead to creativity, while improper use can result in copying and abuses. <\/p>

Even greater ethical challenges are associated with the future, especially with projects like Mind-to-Image. This is no longer just about data privacy, but also about the privacy of thoughts. What happens when technology allows us to literally read other people’s minds? In our culture, there is a deeply rooted belief that we don’t always say what we think. If one day this changes, we will have to redefine the concepts of honesty and truth. These are questions we should already be asking ourselves. <\/p>

M\u017b:<\/strong> What are your plans for the future? Are there any new AI technologies or artistic concepts that you would like to explore? <\/strong><\/p>

HCD:<\/strong> Of course! Mainly, we want to continue developing Mind-to-Image. Until now, our method required intensive MRI scanning sessions, which is an expensive and impractical process. Now, we’d like to explore the possibilities of using more accessible technologies, such as helmets or other devices that allow to instantly register brain activity. This type of solution could open up completely new possibilities in human interaction with AI and art. <\/p>

M\u017b:<\/strong> Your projects often go beyond the traditional art spaces. What is the idea behind these undertakings? <\/strong><\/p>

HCD:<\/strong> We want AI art to be more accessible and understandable for a broader audience. Not everyone visits galleries or museums, but that doesn’t mean they can’t engage with art. That’s why we eagerly collaborate with both commercial companies and cultural institutions \u2013 designing AI art in spaces of everyday life. We have worked with brands such as Alpine, LVMH and Nike, as well as with institutions such as the Paris Op\u00e9ra Garnier. <\/p>

But these projects also have a deeper dimension. The collaboration with Op\u00e9ra Garnier represents a symbolic fusion of tradition and modernity for us \u2013 French opera has existed for centuries, while AI art is a relatively new phenomenon. This marriage shows that artificial intelligence can be a fully-fledged element of modern culture. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obvious is a French collective of researchers and artists who use the latest deep learning models. Dr. Hugo Caselles-Dupr\u00e9, Co-founder of the group, talks about the creative potential of artificial intelligence and transferring images from the brain to the screen. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":9935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[792,673,674],"tags":[],"popular":[],"difficulty-level":[36],"ppma_author":[377],"class_list":["post-11023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-lifestyle","category-hai-magazine-4","category-issue-4","difficulty-level-easy"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":377,"user_id":112,"is_guest":0,"slug":"magdazuk","display_name":"Magda \u017buk","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Zrzut-ekranu-2024-09-20-o-16.38.02.png","url2x":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Zrzut-ekranu-2024-09-20-o-16.38.02.png"},"first_name":"Magda","last_name":"\u017buk","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":"Pasjonatka komunikacji, sztuki i nowych technologii. \u0141\u0105czy te trzy obszary w \u017cyciu zawodowym i osobistym, d\u0105\u017c\u0105c do #humandigitalbalance. Eksploruje obszar ArtTech, inspiruj\u0105c biznes do krytycznego my\u015blenia oraz poszukiwania w sztuce innowacji i pomys\u0142\u00f3w na rozw\u00f3j. W swojej kolekcji sztuki cyfrowej ma m.in. prace kolektywu Obvious."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11023"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11024,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11023\/revisions\/11024"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11023"},{"taxonomy":"popular","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/popular?post=11023"},{"taxonomy":"difficulty-level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/difficulty-level?post=11023"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=11023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}