Island artists weigh in on human versus AI generated creations

At this year's ZineFest, Islanders could find handmade books, zines, and prints from about 50 artists and writers. But what they weren't likely to find was AI-generated art. Festival co-founder Jordan Beaulieu says, if anything, there might have been some anti-AI content. And that's the whole point. It's about like getting your hands dirty, getting creative, expressing yourself, conveying your own human experience, using your own brain, being face to face with other people, getting offline. One vendor at the festival says handmade art offers something that AI doesn't, soul. AI may to a lot of people seem like a great option and I understand for some businesses they don't have access to art. But there's something so soulful and unique about something that's handmade that someone's put their love and devotion into, and so there's nothing quite like it. Some shoppers at Zinefest agree and say they value the fact that a human put thought and effort into their creation. Everything that we're doing is for each other, we're social creatures, we're creatures of community and so the whole point is that we're connecting with each other in this way and it's just not something that a machine can do, I think it's that simple. Beaulieu says there are no official regulations around artists using AI at the festival, but Zinefest tries to steer clear of the technology and focus on the human experience. Taylor O'Brien, CBC News, Charlottetown.