The Lost Age of Authenticity
How Generative AI Fades the Aura of Individual Creators
“… all technology is, at certain stages, evidence of a collective dream.”
― Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project
Hard to believe… there was a time when art was respectable, artists were honoured citizens who engaged only in highly moral and honest activities, creating works that elevated the human spirit into higher planes of existence. In those days… all creatives were fairly compensated, living prosperous and peaceful lives surrounded by the love and care of their families and communities who celebrated their visionary contributions aligned with the joyful spirit of times.
When the halcyon days of art ended — or whether they ever existed — remains a hotly debated subject among art historians. Sometime in the late 19th and early 20th century, the artist’s role plunged from the high peaks of Parnassus into the gutters of a harsh reality. The age of unbearable suffering in art arrived with the beat of a mechanical reproduction drum. The golden age of individual creators ended not with a sharp bang but a muffled whimper. Walter Benjamin observed that the aura of individual artworks diminished during the new age of mechanical reproduction a century ago.
“What is aura? A peculiar web of space and time: the unique manifestation of…
