Perhaps it’s too early to tell. We can still comfortably ignore it. The sublime mathematical magic behind fractal art will forever establish it as “more than just art —a whole new universe” and “without rivals”. (“I’m quoting myself,” as I write…)

Here’s the big question today, in the time of AI:

“what can fractals do that AI can’t do?”

I see my prophetic predictions coming true, that fractal art’s most enduring talent will not be the artwork it has produced but rather the software itself and the interactive exploration that it enables. AI will (or has already) overtaken the graphical creativity of fractals. The talents that made someone a big star back in the days of radio look homemade and amateurish on a video screen.  Our world has changed again. A link to the song.

In the media world to come where everything is fake, reality will not be possible anymore, everything will be an opinion of reality —personal perception. What you see is what you get; what you see is what you see.  When everything is fake, face value will be the only value anything will have; not the value it claims but the value it portrays. Art, or whatever, will be judged on it’s immediate perceived properties because no one will believe anyone who says they painstakingly made it by hand, or that it is a “real” photograph.  Fractals of course have parameter files that can be brought out as evidence of authenticity, but that won’t work… no one will believe in authenticity anymore and everything will be assumed to be AI and even your evidence will be assumed to be AI “generated”.  Appearance is 9/10s of the law.  We have no idea how it was made or where you got it from!  We don’t even know who you are.  And neither do you!  Anyone could really be you!

Pinterest search on “fractal art”. What’s genuinely fractal here? What’s genuinely interesting? What grabs your eye?  Are AI “imitation fractals” substantially different –visually?”

But we can still play around with the fractal machinery and go places.  But there won’t be any audience for fractal art beyond that of the artists themselves who will form a sort of Explorers Club where they share snapshots and mementos and tell hunting tales.  I see that even now.

But I don’t think AI will ever imitate the wild panoramic zooming powers of fractal software and that fractal adventureland it generates.  But really, who knows what AI will able to produce and how we will be able to work with it (or just play with it) in the future.  “The future” which is probably already here.