This project, Yes, AI: An Auto-Zine Reflection on Zylinska and AWG INC, is a dynamic exploration of generative AI as both a creative tool and a critical subject. Drawing inspiration from Joanna Zylinska’s The Perception Machine and my artistic practice under the pseudonym AWG INC, this auto-zine engages with themes of media transformation, identity, and the tension between human and machine creativity. By merging Zylinska’s theoretical provocations with a remix of my design ethos, this project interrogates how generative AI aligns—or fails to align—with personal artistic values, while also reflecting on the broader implications of these tools for culture and identity.
I tried to take the assignment requirements of the zine format and evoke the tactile, collage-driven aesthetics of my DIY punk and design background from when I operated as AWG INC. This project reflects my attempt to integrate generative imagery into a cohesive visual narrative, juxtaposing AI-generated images with text fragments inspired by The Perception Machine. The result is both a critique and an embrace of AI as a tool for artistic experimentation.
My key inspirations from Zylinska’s idea of the "perception machine" as an assemblage of human and machinic agents, questioning the agency of both in creative processes, relates to my design philosophy as AWG INC, where my work was grounded in fragmentation, subversion, and collaboration, aligning with the zine’s emphasis on juxtaposition and interactivity. This zine’s title, Yes, AI, reflects the dualities of AI as a creative partner and a source of disruption in artistic practice. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get Dall-E to mirror the native AWG style, but the project embraces generative AI as a tool, or supplement, in its challenges the authenticity and identity of artistic output.
The zine combines curated generative images with textual commentary to create a layered reflection on the potential and concerns of AI. My process included using DALL-E to generate a wide range of images with prompts informed by my art practice and Zylinska’s themes of abstraction, mediation, and transformation. This included experiments with both abstract and representational imagery, as well as iterative refinements to align outputs with my design sensibilities. Inspired by Zylinska’s notion that photography (and by extension, generative media) is an active process, the zine critiques the limitations of AI tools in reproducing the nuances of human creativity. This reflection is woven into the textual commentary, questioning how AI shifts the boundaries of authorship and labor.
AI’s inability to replicate the nuances of my design style underscores its limitations as a creative partner. As Zylinska notes, AI often operates under an "illusion of sentience," raising questions about agency and authenticity. Through this zine, I reflect on my own artistic history and values, examining how generative tools can amplify creativity while challenging traditional notions of authorship and labor. The project serves as a critique of AI as a surrogate for creativity and a proposal for its potential as a collaborative medium.