---
title: "Philosopher: AI Can Never Create True Art"
description: "Sean Dorrance Kelly, philosophy professor at Harvard, argues that artificial intelligence can never achieve true human creativity."
date: "2019-02-21"
modified: "2019-02-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/philosopher-ai-create-true-art"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "ai"
  - "art"
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "the digest"
---

# Philosopher: AI Can Never Create True Art

![Sean Dorrance Kelly, philosophy professor at Harvard, argues that artificial intelligence can never achieve true human creativity.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/philosopher-ai-create-true-art1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://robotart.org/archives/2017/artwork/1999/" target="\_blank"\>Thomas Lindemeier/Liat Grayver via RobotArt\</a\>\</em\>*

## AI Art

Robots with artificial intelligence have created paintings and sketches for years — one even sold for [almost half a million dollars](<https://www.christies.com/features/A-collaboration-between-two-artists-one-human-one-a-machine-9332-1.aspx>) at Christie’s Auction House in December.

But is it *really* art in the same way some of the greatest achievements of creativity in human history have been called "art"?

That's a clear no. Or at least that's what Sean Dorrance Kelly, philosophy professor at Harvard, argues in a [new essay](<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612913/a-philosopher-argues-that-an-ai-can-never-be-an-artist/>) for the *MIT Technology Review*. To Kelly, an AI might be able to come up with a "well-executed Bach cantata" or "a brilliant Go strategy" — but it will never be an "autonomous creative agent" like a free-thinking human.

"Creativity is one of the defining features of human beings," Kelly wrote. "But this kind of creativity depends upon our valuing it, and caring for it, as such." But thanks to technology, we are starting to value creativity a whole lot less — the same way machines reduce creativity to a simple binary "yes or no."

## Achieving Human Creativity

Kelly believes AI will never end up amounting to human creativity — and worries that by placing less and less importance on the role of creativity, we risk substituting "machine creativity" for our own.

"Human creative achievement, because of the way it is socially embedded, will not succumb to advances in artificial intelligence," he wrote. "To say otherwise is to misunderstand both what human beings are and what our creativity amounts to."

But that's not black or white either. Once robots learn to think for themselves, independent from human influence — and Kelly believes that's still many years out — the paradigms may shift.

**READ MORE:** [A philosopher argues that an AI can never be an artist](<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612913/a-philosopher-argues-that-an-ai-can-never-be-an-artist/>)

***More on robot art: [Robot Art A Fleshy New Humanoid Sketches You, Mimics Your Facial Expressions](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-draw-paint-engineered-arts-ai-da>)***

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)