The Future of Human–AI Worldbuilding in Art

The convergence of artistic practices and AI system development has introduced novel forms of artistic worldbuilding. This paper theoretically discusses how human artists (will) perceive and involve AI systems in their artistic worldbuilding. Adopting a qualitative foresight methodology to explore the artistic autonomy and artistic authority with which humans and AI systems engage, this paper presents three scenarios of human–AI interaction in macro art worlds (art societies) and micro artworlds (worlds within artworks). Drawing on a review of the generative art approach as the current use of AI systems in art-making, the other two futuristic scenarios of human–AI interaction illustrate the shifting roles of humans and AI systems in artistic worldbuilding. The hypothetical scenarios of human–AI interaction in art-making provide a theoretical test bed for recognising diverse types of artistic contribution ranging from human inspiration and curation to non-human decision-making.