In the 60s and 70s, computers were colossal, mysterious beasts — I once visited one that took up three entire floors at ICI Teesside. Back then, their impact on society was only whispered about.

Fifty years on, AI isn’t just knocking on the door — it’s already in our homes, studios, and pockets. Scientists warn of existential risks, but my focus is on the here-and-now: the benefits, challenges, and ethical dilemmas AI brings to the creative arts.

From questions of ownership and authenticity to new possibilities in personalisation and restoration, AI could either devalue human creativity — or unleash it.

To see for myself, I typed “Abstract painting of a 1975 British industrial landscape” into free AI art software. Seconds later, a brand-new artwork appeared — a piece that never existed until that moment.

The debate is wide open. The future of creativity is being written right now — by humans, machines, or perhaps… both.