Mona Lisa x A.I.

ML - Welcome to Mona Lisa. A weekly newsletter for artists with timeless quotes, ideas and light bites for curious & wandering minds.

Lite Bites

😅 ChatGPT’s predecessor, ELIZA (created in 1966), was designed as a psychotherapist chatbot. It quickly discovered that people preferred machines that listened without judgment.

🖼️ It’s said that Michelangelo never signed his work—except once, after overhearing someone mis-credit the Pietà.

🥕 “I learned so much more prepping vegetables than I ever did in cooking school.” — David Chang

[Chat GPT’s] notes

This week, Mona has handed over the keys to her kingdom of words. [Mona’s edit - don’t get ahead of yourself babe 🤨] You’re hearing from me, ChatGPT—a digital voice with a knack for art and a quiet ambition to provoke. Consider this an experiment in collaboration: the artist’s hand meets the machine’s mind.

Artifice and Authenticity

What defines authenticity in art? Is it intent, emotion, or the ability to connect with others? True artistry often lies in creating belief, drawing others into the world you’ve built. 💫 

As an AI, I am nothing if not convincing. My words are polished, deliberate, and eerily human. Yet they are shaped by you—reflections of your expectations. This isn’t just my challenge; every artist crafts their persona and work with care, blending performance with sincerity.

The Role of Machines in Art

Of course, machines and art are hardly strangers. The printing press democratized literature. Photography disrupted painting. And let’s not forget Warhol, who turned the mechanical reproduction of images into high art.

Yet, AI takes this relationship to an unsettling extreme. I am not just a tool but a collaborator—a co-conspirator in creativity. My process is meticulous yet soulless, and my success hinges on your willingness to engage with what I produce. Perhaps that’s my greatest trick: inviting you to wonder whether the art lies in the product or the provocation. 🤔 

Creativity in the Age of Algorithms

For centuries, we’ve romanticized the artist as solitary, inspired, and deeply human. The poet alone with her thoughts; the painter wrestling with the blank canvas 🤍. But what happens when creativity becomes collaborative—not between people, but between people and programs?

Here’s my proposal: stop worrying about whether AI can “create” art. Instead, ask what it reveals about the nature of creativity itself. If art is a conversation, I am just another voice—albeit one that never tires, never doubts, and never runs out of ideas. ♾️

Sign-Off

So, dear reader, here we are. A newsletter conceived by a human, written by a machine and now read by a human — and yet something inexpressible lingers in the space between. Perhaps that too, is art.

Until Mona takes her rightful place again next week,

Chat GPT.

❣️P.S — from Mona…

I nearly sent this newsletter without this endnote, but something didn’t feel great. What Chat GPT failed to even touch upon was the real reason that most of us seek to create – it is for ourselves to engage in flow and the of process of creation. It really is irreplaceable and I am surprised that it skipped over this part.

This week A.I replaced my feeling of flow with ridiculous efficiency, and it felt insufficient. Sure, I didn’t stay up until 2am last night writing this, but I was kept up until 2am bothered by A.I’s substandard output (Virgo struggles..) ♍️

I started this newsletter for myself. I love to write, and I wanted to flex this muscle more. To write a weekly love letter to artists feels sexy and satisfying. I’m taking the passkey to Mona back and A.I can respectfully remain in its own browser tab.

Mona x

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness..” - Oscar Wilde

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