The Dance of Agencies in AI Art–Beyond the Creator-Tool Dichotomy, a Netnographic Analysis of Reddit Forums

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems on contemporary AI-based art generation practices. As algorithms display nascent creativity, they catalyze philosophical questions regarding the role of technology in artistic creation. However, the influence of AI on art creation, perception, and consumption remains unexplored by empirical research. This article integrates the theoretical frameworks of post-phenomenology and actor-network theory to investigate how generative AI technologies mediate creators’ perception, agency, and imagination. It explores how human–algorithm assemblages may expand possibilities while also obscuring the anthropocentric constructs underpinning art. It uses netnography of artistic communities in the Reddit website to explore the tensions arising as human rationalities and intentions collide with algorithmic logics and constraints. The findings reveal generative AI’s potential to delegate intentionality as well as its potential influence on agency, rationality, and memory. Using empirical grounding, this study elucidates the complex entanglements among artists, algorithms, artwork, and the public in the emerging generative AI terrain.