[Paper Review] Deep Else: A Critical Framework for AI Art

Dejan Grba|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 23, 2026

Art, Technology, and Culture0 citations

TL;DR

A comprehensive framework for the critical exploration of AI art, detailing its context, poetic features, issues, and directions to advance the field.

ABSTRACT

From a small community of pioneering artists who experimented with artificial intelligence (AI) in the 1970s, AI art has expanded, gained visibility, and attained socio-cultural relevance since the second half of the 2010s. Its topics, methodologies, presentational formats, and implications are closely related to a range of disciplines engaged in the research and application of AI. In this paper, I present a comprehensive framework for the critical exploration of AI art. It comprises the context of AI art, its prominent poetic features, major issues, and possible directions. I address the poetic, expressive, and ethical layers of AI art practices within the context of contemporary art, AI research, and related disciplines. I focus on the works that exemplify poetic complexity and manifest the epistemic or political ambiguities indicative of a broader milieu of contemporary culture, AI science, technology, economy, and society. By comparing, acknowledging, and contextualizing both their accomplishments and shortcomings, I outline the prospective strategies to advance the field. The aim of this framework is to expand the existing critical discourse of AI art with new perspectives which can be used to examine the creative attributes of emerging practices and to assess their cultural significance and socio-political impact. It contributes to rethinking and redefining the art/science/technology critique in the age when the arts, together with science and technology, are becoming increasingly responsible for changing ecologies, shaping cultural values, and political normalization.

Motivation & Objective

• Present a comprehensive framework for the critical exploration of AI art.
• Address the poetic, expressive, and ethical layers of AI art practices.
• Contextualize AI art within contemporary art, AI research, and related disciplines.
• Compare, acknowledge, and contextualize achievements and shortcomings to outline strategies for advancement.
• Expand critical discourse to examine cultural significance and socio-political impact.

Proposed method

• Synthesize insights from art history, AI research, and related disciplines to form a cohesive framework.
• Define the context, prominent poetic features, major issues, and possible directions for AI art.
• Analyze works that exhibit poetic complexity and epistemic or political ambiguities.
• Propose prospective strategies to advance the field and broaden critical discourse.
• Position the art/science/technology critique within broader ecologies and cultural-values shifts.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What are the defining poetic features and expressive modes of AI art?
• RQ2 What major ethical, epistemic, and political issues accompany AI art practices?
• RQ3 How can we contextualize AI art within contemporary art, AI research, and related disciplines?
• RQ4 What strategies can advance the field and deepen its cultural significance and socio-political impact?

Key findings

• The framework outlines the context, poetic features, issues, and directions for AI art.
• It emphasizes works that show poetic complexity and epistemic/political ambiguities as representative of broader cultural and technological milieus.
• The approach aims to expand critical discourse and provide new perspectives for examining creative attributes and cultural significance in AI art.
• It contributes to rethinking and redefining art/science/technology critique in an age where arts, science, and technology shape ecologies and political norms.