As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes better and more prevalent, people will increasingly use its computing power to supplement or replace human creativity. Film director Gareth Edwards attempted to do just that  in his new movie, The Creator, about artificial intelligence. Edwards used an AI algorithm to attempt to replicate the musical style of composer Hans Zimmer.  Ultimately, Edwards abandoned this effort and hired Zimmer to compose the score because although the AI-generated track was convincing, Edwards believed it still felt short of human Zimmer’s work.

Because AI generates new content through a database of existing content, the model’s output can convincingly replicate existing artists. However, the AI-generated content may be simplistic and lack a human’s creativity. In an interview with the MIT Technology Review, Edwards stated his belief that generative AI should be embraced like Photoshop and treated like a tool for improving the creative process.

Although there may be similar creative benefits between generative AI and Photoshop, using AI to replicate or replace human creativity may violate intellectual property laws. Writers, including Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, are currently suing OpenAI alleging that the company violated the authors’ copyrights by using their collective works to train its model. The results of this case and similar cases may determine the future viability of generative AI as a creative tool for mass consumer entertainment.