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Art Born of Silicon

A digital illustrator explores the impact of generative AI on their profession while a musician, filmmaker, and actor are tested to see if they can distinguish an authentic artwork from "AI art."

  • Paul Barasa
    Director
  • Paul Barasa
    Writer
  • Paul Barasa
    Producer
  • Angelo Leo
    Featuring
  • Daniel Oluwayomi
    Featuring
  • Marc Jure
    Featuring
  • Maegan Bertran
    Featuring
  • Cristopher McIntyre Garcia
    Featuring
  • Dhruv Gajjar
    Cinematographer
  • Paul Barasa
    Editor
  • Angelo Leo
    Composer
  • Marcus Lautenbach
    Production Sound Mixer
  • Marcus Lautenbach
    Sound Editor & Sound Mixer
  • Dhruv Gajjar
    Colourist
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    19 minutes 58 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 5, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 CAD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Paul Barasa

Paul Barasa is an African-Canadian (BIPOC) filmmaker based in Ottawa, ON, Canada. In 2022, he completed a film fellowship program taught by Fitch Jean and Amir Zargara, independent filmmakers renowned in the Ottawa region. Paul concluded the program by directing a student short film titled "Jim Harris." The film illustrated the discrimination minorities with ethnic names face during application screening for a job.

Paul's latest project combines his expertise in Computer Science ("Honours Bachelor of Science in Computer Science" from the University of Ottawa) and his respect of artistry into a short documentary titled "Art Born of Silicon." The documentary explores the impact of generative AI on digital illustration.

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Director Statement

I wrote a paper about ChatGPT in the Spring of 2022, five months before the AI model was released to the public. Only technology enthusiasts and Computer Science students such as myself were aware of the AI model at the time. After playing around with the trial version of ChatGPT and expressing my astonishment of its capabilities in my paper, I knew upon its release, it would be the most impactful technological advancement since the smartphone.

Generative AI has been around for a few years now. We have all seen so called "AI art" on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more, with world leaders like Donald Trump making it a routine to share self-aggrandizing AI images of himself to his millions of supporters. Many critics have been outspoken on generative AI, stating it infringes on people's copyright, it is a tool that can be used to create defamatory content, and it endangers the careers of artists across multiple disciplines. It is a message that resonates with me, but one that has fallen on death ears. People continue to enjoy their AI memes, companies more and more are embracing AI content rather than hiring creatives, and tech giants continue to build AI models with little government regulation.

If society accepts AI art is as authentic and provocative as anything a human could make, in time, who is making art will no longer matter to most consumers. Considering that AI can produce art faster and for cheaper, where would that leave artists? Generative AI will continue to improve exponentially, further eroding the livelihoods of digital illustrators, VFX artists, photographers, videographers, and more. Something needs to be done to protect these artists' careers.

I hope this short documentary elicits compassion for the creative process—the sweat, blood, and tears that goes into making art that comes from the cumulation of one's experience in this strange universe we find ourselves in—rather than pixels born of silicon.