Introducing Political Ecology of Creative-Ai

Abstract: This chapter introduces the perspective of political ecology to the application of artificial intelligence to artistic processes (Creative-Ai). Hence, the environmental and social impact of the development and employment of Creative-Ai are the focus of this text, when we consider them as part of an economic system that transforms artistic creation to a commodity. I first analyse specific Creative-Ai cases, and then conduct a speculation that takes Jacques Attali's writing on the role of music in society as a vantage point, and investigates the environmental and social consequences of an automatic composition network controlled by a large music streaming platform. Whereas the possibilities that emerge from Creative-Ai may be promising from an artistic perspective, its entanglement with corporate interest raises severe concerns. These concerns can only be addressed by a wide cross-sectoral alliance between research and arts that develops a critical perspective on the future directions of Creative-Ai.