In this episode of The Intersect, Chelsea and Georgia explore what makes creative work trustworthy when algorithms can instantly generate compelling images. They examine how artists and institutions are responding to this fundamental shift in creative value.

Episode Highlights

• NOT REAL ART's Year in Review: Editor Morgan Laurens reframes 2025 through resilience rather than pity, highlighting how artists continue producing meaningful work despite funding cuts and industry challenges
• Ars Electronica 2025: Artists transform from cultural commentators to essential navigators through collective uncertainty, guiding society through geopolitical, technological, and ecological upheavals
• Bradford's City of Culture Impact: £51 million investment yields 3 million attendees and lasting educational legacy, with creative course applications surging at Bradford College
• Marco Brambilla's 'After Utopia': AI-powered reimagining of World's Fair archives questions whether we're steering technological progress or merely passengers along for the ride
• Beeple's 'Diffuse Control' at LACMA: Interactive installation has visitors collaborate with AI to transform German Expressionist woodcuts, raising questions about algorithmic interpretation versus human intent
• Photography's Identity Crisis: Marco Savarese argues AI challenges photography's fundamental nature, replacing confrontation with reality with automated simulation
• The 'Not By AI' Movement: Human-made design commands 60% premium as authenticity becomes the primary differentiator between trustworthy creative work and synthetic content
• Adobe's 2026 Creative Trends: Emphasis on emotion and authenticity as key differentiators in an increasingly automated creative landscape

Key Themes

The episode centers on the question: when the initial "wow" factor becomes trivially easy to achieve through AI, what creates lasting value in creative work? The discussion reveals how artists are finding new roles as guides through uncertainty, while the creative industry grapples with proving authenticity in a world of endless synthetic possibilities.

Notable Quotes

"Digital artists now are fighting the exact same legitimacy battles that photographers faced a century ago." - On the historical context of technological disruption in art

"When AI starts making the decisions about what to improve, or remove, or even add to an image, we're really not working with reality anymore. It's a simulation." - Marco Savarese on photography's fundamental challenge

Personal Reflections

Juergen shares his retreat to analog tools—acoustic guitar, pencil sketches, charcoal drawings—as a luxury compared to young artists in conflict zones still producing incredible work under impossible conditions. He reflects on a poem about dogs walking naked into uncertainty, trusting completely in their bonds, wondering if artists avoiding political commentary seek similar presence and gratitude.

The Bigger Picture

The episode reveals a cultural shift where authenticity isn't just marketing language but the primary way audiences distinguish trustworthy creative work from synthetic content. Yet as everyone claims authenticity as their differentiator, the question becomes whether it's a genuine creative philosophy or the industry's latest security blanket.

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