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This paper presents a study analyzing the perception of artistic products created by or with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). The research builds on previous studies revealing that the output of artificial creativity processes can indeed rival human-made products, satisfy consumer expectations, and derive enjoyment. However, in contrast to earlier works, the study focuses on the awareness of how AI is used during production processes (full automation, human-AI co-creation, and solely human) and product types (levels of involvement and product tangibility). A laboratory experiment was conducted to compare the value and creativity perceptions of 199 participants. Results revealed that, overall, the use of AI enhanced perceptions of process novelty. Additionally, the use of AI led to more positive evaluations of intangible and high involvement products such as songs compared to tangible and high involvement products such as paintings. This shows a decrease in perceived quality as more AI is involved in the production process. Furthermore, the level of product involvement level indicated no causal relationship to the degree of AI used in the production process.

COMMENTARY: Applying artificial intelligence (AI) to generate creative and valuable outputs is far from a novel concept (Boden, 1998; Cope, 1989). However, only in recent years have we witnessed large scale release and adoption of AI tools capable of generating high-quality content in written, image, video, and sound formats (Anantrasirichai & Bull, 2022). The fast adoption of these tools, and the autonomous nature of the process that generates such outputs, challenges well-rooted paradigms, especially in creative sectors such as the arts. As consequence, it calls for a discussion and reconsideration of existing concepts and assumptions.