Student vs Google

Cass Foundation students test their creativity against search engine giant's algorithms

Date: 05 February 2019

Foundation students at The Cass have been using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to test and help develop their own creativity. In an ingenious project called Student vs Google, students were challenged by their tutor James Steventon to demonstrate they are more creative than AI.

Art-market history was made recently when a work created using a Generative Adversarial Network sold at Christie’s auction house in New York for $432,500. In Student vs Google, students played the adversarial part in an iterative sequence where they subverted Google's Image Search algorithm to create new, unexpected images. Each step of the process was uploaded to a collaborative online Padlet.

The project culminated in the use of further AI algorithms where students created their own digital poster images. These were then graded by another algorithm to instigate discussions about aesthetics and creativity.

 

Image: by Helena Sanchez ( Detail)