Artificial intelligence has So far Enlisted as a bogeyman In the cultural world: Software will take on the job of writers and translators, and images created by the number of deaths for illustrators and graphic designers.
However, there is a corner of high culture, where Who Taking on the main role is the hero, does not replace traditional main characters, experts and conservation houses, but adds a powerful, attractive weapon to their arsenal when fighting for fake and wrong distribution. Who has Especially good When realizing and verifying the work of an artist, based on an analysis of a digital image of a picture.
AI's objective analysis has thrown a wrench into this traditional decentralization system. If an algorithm can determine the copyright of a work of art with statistical probability, then that makes the old artist historians reputable has been built on their subjective expertise? In fact, AI will never replace connoisseurs, like using X -rays and carbon dating decades ago. It is simply the latest in a line of high -tech tools to support authentication.
A good one must be a set of data managed by human artists to build knowledge about the style of an artist, and human artists who have to explain the results. That is the case in November 2024, when a top AI company, Art recognitionPublished its analysis of Rembrandt's Polish driverThe painting of famous scholars and led to many debates about how much, if any, actually was drawn by Rembrandt itself. Who is exactly suitable for what most connoisseurs have posed about the picture of the Master's, that is because his students, and related to the hands of enthusiastic recovery. It is especially attractive when the scientific method confirms experts.
We people find hard scientific data more attractive than personal opinionsEven if that idea comes from a person who seems to be an expert. The so -called “CSI effectDescriptions of how the jurors found evidence that DNA was more convincing than the testimony of witnesses. But when expert opinion (witness), origin and scientific tests (CSI) all agree to the same conclusion? That is close to the clear answer as one can get.
But what happens when the owner of a work, at first glance, looks completely dishonest to the point of laughter, recruiting a shiny company with the task of collecting forensic evidence to support a better conclusion?
Lost and found
Back in 2016, an oil painting emerged in a flea market in Minnesota and was bought for less than $ 50. Now its owner is suggesting that It could be a lost van GoghAnd therefore will be worth millions. . The rigid, awkward, completely lacking picture causes fever and rhythmic brush to identify the Dutch artist Oeuvre. Worse, it has a signature: Elimar. However, this suspicious picture has become the center of a battle for high authenticity, one of which scientific analysis, market forces and desire to collide.
The owners of the Elimar Van Gogh group, because it has been known to mock in the art world, now is one Art consultancy team named LMI International. They are A lot of investment In making experts say what they want to hear: in fact, it is a genuine van Gogh. This is where everything becomes murky. The world of artistic authentication is not a simple issue. Unlike difficult sciences, artistic history related to probability, connoisseur and competitive experts' opinions. It is also an industry motivated by financial incentives. If the picture is considered true, its value Skyrockets. If it is considered a fake, or rather in this case, a derivative job of a person named Elimar, who has gone a little on the fabric, may be inspired by Van Gogh, but no talent of him, then it is almost no value as you can expect in a flea market in Minnesota under 50 Bucks. The imbalance in this shares has led to a dangerous trend: hiring experts does not determine the authenticity, but to confirm it.