AI (and computers in general) are simply tools. No more, no less than a paint brush. AI is not conscious in any way; the conscious aspect of making the art is still done by a human, even if it is just pressing a button. How the art is made is irrelevant. What the art is is what counts. Had these sub-Bacon derivations been created by slopping some paint on a canvas, they wouldn’t be improved in any way.

That the acquisition-obsessed art market is elevating the gimmicks over the art is an indictment of them, not the art. That the buyers are buying it? PT Barnum has a message for them. A shredded Banksy, anyone?