AI won’t decimate the arts. We must interrogate it, but we can collaborate with it The disquiet surrounding AI in the arts is real, with many fearing its destructive potential. However, the RBO/SHIFT festival at the Royal Opera House aims to explore AI’s impact, highlighting opera’s historical embrace of technology and its simultaneous preservation of traditional crafts. While ethical concerns about ownership and appropriation are legitimate, AI may not decimate the arts but rather lead to new forms of collaboration and artistic practice, potentially increasing our appreciation for human creativity.

• Artificial intelligence generates significant disquiet and distrust among artists, with fears it will decimate the arts.
• The RBO/SHIFT festival at the Royal Opera House aims to examine all sides of AI’s impact on artists, creatives, and audiences.
• Opera, by synthesizing multiple art forms and historically embracing new technologies, provides a unique lens to examine AI.
• Concerns about AI replacing people, particularly regarding ownership and the use of performers’ likenesses, are legitimate but the reality of AI’s impact on artistic roles may be more complex.
• The most discussed aspect of AI, generative creation, is arguably the least interesting; AI’s potential lies more in collaboration, interaction, and novel artistic practices.
• Practical applications of AI in opera production, such as workforce planning, scheduling, safety, and waste reduction through pre-visualisation, may have a greater long-term impact than image generation.
• Ethical questions surrounding appropriation and misuse of artists’ work are substantial, necessitating legislation and protections, while acknowledging creativity’s historical dependence on access to culture.
• Rather than decimating the arts, AI may lead to a greater appreciation and preservation of them, as unique human elements like singing, playing, scenery, and communal energy remain unchallenged by AI.