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The question is can generative AI create art?  According to an article in “Cosmic Log, " AI's growing influence in science fiction is not just a mirror of modern life.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has infiltrated nearly every aspect of human society. It is diagnosing diseases, completing job applications and even influencing our entertainment choices. 

 AI is also making waves in the very domain where our imaginations about it were first sparked: science fiction.

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The Art of AI: Can Machines Master Creativity?

The debate over whether AI can produce art has gained traction as generative AI continues to advance. 

In an essay published in The New Yorker, Seattle-based science fiction author Ted Chiang contends that AI, despite its growing capabilities, is fundamentally limited in its ability to surpass human creativity. And in artistic endeavors such as painting or fiction writing humans win.

 Chiang’s perspective challenges the notion that AI could ever fully replace human artists.

“AI is just becoming more and more prominent in science fiction, which I think is just a reflection of the times we’re in right now,” says Allan Kaster, a veteran editor of sci-fi story collections for over 15 years. 

“It’s getting harder and harder to see a story that doesn’t include some sort of AI.” Kaster, who runs the sci-fi publishing house Infinivox, explores the evolving relationship between real-world science and fiction in the latest episode of the Fiction Science podcast.

The Historical Roots of AI in Science Fiction

Intelligent machines have been a staple in science fiction for nearly a century, dating back to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics (1942), and HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

These early depictions of AI set the stage for today’s writers, who now have the opportunity to explore new parallels between cutting-edge technology and speculative fiction.

Kaster’s latest anthology, The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 8, showcases his picks for 2023’s best short stories and novellas in a subgenre known as hard science fiction. This collection illustrates how modern authors are using AI as both a tool, and a theme in their narratives.

AI Takes Center Stage in Modern Sci-Fi Narratives

One of the standout novellas in the anthology, written by Fiction Science co-host Dominica Phetteplace, features robots guiding a teenage girl toward an otherworldly encounter at an abandoned Mars base.