AI & Working Artists
Featuring Richard Kessler, Provost of The New School
F(r)ictions: Creative Work in an Age of AI {2026 symposium}
Richard Kessler, Provost of The New School, starts from a question that rarely gets asked in conversations dominated by headline names. What happens to the artist who is not famous enough to be insulated from any of this? He describes musicians composing jingles and songs on spec, painters, photographers, poets, the people for whom a shrinking market for creative work is not an abstraction but a livelihood question. Taylor Swift's fortune is secure because of her tours, but who becomes the next Taylor Swift in a market that no longer pays for the work that gets someone there in the first place?
Kessler points out that AI systems still need new material to learn from, and that material has to come from artists who keep creating. He sees a future where audiences will develop a sharper appreciation for work only a person could have made, and he highlights the universities' role in researching and defending that value rather than focusing on keeping AI out of the classroom. Watch the video for his full remarks.
At: The New School, New York City
On: Friday, May 1, 2026
Sponsored by: The New School's Office of University Initiatives
Video Production: Tatiana Stolpovskaya
Selected Works
We investigate how AI transforms the conditions, politics, and value of creative work.
