AI & Calligraphy

[Ken Fraser]

Over the past few years I'v posted a great deal of my handwritten examples  on www.instagram.com/kenfrasercalligrapher
Recently two of my postings have been answered by a message from Instagram stating that if I've used Ai I  should declare it.
This leaves me with very mixed emotions. Firstly, it is obviously a compliment if my writing is considered good enough to have
been faked by artificial means. Secondly, it is depressing to think that many years of study and practice can be successfully
mimiced. Surely, this can't be progress.     

[Erica McPhee]

Ken, I split this off into its own topic because I think it is an important one. I completely understand your feelings. When all the AI art first started appearing, I was pleased to see AI could not do anything closely resembling calligraphy (because it couldn’t write or create words using an alphabet). But I have seen more and more of it starting to resemble handwriting and calligraphy.

For the most part though, they look like fonts to me. And like with AI art, it has a “false” feel to it. I think the majority of us can recognize AI generated art and photographs fairly quickly. But as time goes forward, it will be less distinguishable. The problem is when it’s “too perfect” it no longer looks believable or “real.” I suspect it will be the same with AI generated calligraphy but I don’t know that for sure.

[Ken Fraser]

Ken, I split this off into its own topic because I think it is an important one. I completely understand your feelings. When all the AI art first started appearing, I was pleased to see AI could not do anything closely resembling calligraphy (because it couldn’t write or create words using an alphabet). But I have seen more and more of it starting to resemble handwriting and calligraphy.

For the most part though, they look like fonts to me. And like with AI art, it has a “false” feel to it. I think the majority of us can recognize AI generated art and photographs fairly quickly. But as time goes forward, it will be less indistinguishable. The problem is when it’s “too perfect” it no longer looks believable or “real.” I suspect it will be the same with AI generated calligraphy but I don’t know that for sure.

Thanks for that. I hope that your prediction is right.

[Despoina]

Hello dear @Ken Fraser, your work is amazing! I will agree with @Erica McPhee , for what I've seen, Al produced calligraphy looks really like just fonts. The "air" and the dynamic of the human hand is missing. Also, let's not forget that calligraphy nowadays it's not just on paper. It's in gold foiling, engraving and so many other things. And Al definitely can't produce these 😊