The results of a neuroaesthetic study conducted at the ArtVerona art fair have been published. The study was the result of a collaboration between BrainSigns, in particular Prof. Fabio Babiloni and Dr. Giulia Cartocci, and the collective of artists and researchers Numero Cromatico, especially involving Dr. Dionigi Mattia Gagliardi, Dr. Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella and Dr. Giulia Torromino.
The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of knowledge that a work was created by a human artist rather than an Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an ecological context.
In fact, ArtVerona involved 25000 visitors, of which about 3000 visited the studio stand and 150 took part in the research. Two unpublished abstract paintings were used (D.M. Gagliardi 2015), which were alternately presented to participants as produced by either a “human” or an “AI.”
Participants who saw both paintings rated as less pleasant the painting they believed to have been created by AI, after having seen the one believed to be produced by a human. This showed that we are influenced by knowledge of a work's authorship, and that our judgement is more negative toward works that we think are the product of an AI. This finding is particularly significant in light of the rise of creative and intelligent technologies, many of which are capable of producing original artworks. The interdisciplinary approach between art and neuroscience, therefore, can not only provide new insights into the concept of authorship, but also open new scenarios on the creation and appreciation of artwork.
The study, partly supported by the Great University Project 2021 'The artificial intelligence and us: how we react, how we can live together' obtained by Prof. Fabio Babiloni and colleagues, is the result of the first collaboration between BrainSigns and Numero Cromatico.
The two groups are carrying out further research, including a study within the SUPERSTIMOLO exhibition of Numero Cromatico at the MAXXI Museum in Rome, where brain responses were also measured using the Mindtooth system, developed with EU funding and already used recently in the NeuroDante project, led by Prof. Fabio Babiloni's team under the supervision of Dr. Cartocci.
To learn more about the article, you can read and download it from the website of the Computers in Human Behavior magazine.
