Beyond the prompt: when the medium is generative AI, the artist becomes a systemic director

The article argues that as AI-generated images become more spectacular, the role of the artist is often misunderstood as merely writing prompts. Instead, the author contends that the most significant generative artworks are systems—predetermined rule-based environments where the artist designs the conditions for images to emerge. Works like Hans Haacke's "Condensation Cube" (1963-1965) and Refik Anadol's "Unsupervised" (2022) exemplify this shift from object to process, where the artwork is the behavior or architecture itself.

This matters because it redefines artistic authorship in the age of AI. The author proposes the concept of "sistemico director" (systemic director) to describe the artist who designs workflows, datasets, and algorithmic constraints rather than selecting final images. This reframes AI art as a rigorous practice of system-building, not a technological shortcut, and challenges institutions like Tate and the V&A to recognize generative art as a distinct, process-based discipline.