Putting the Art in Artificial Intelligence: Exploring the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence-Generated Artwork on Wellbeing and Reflection in Healthcare Settings

Artificial intelligence (AI) artwork generators such as DALL-E and Midjourney have recently skyrocketed in widespread use. They take text prompts and return sets of images based on the prompts. They are a powerful tool for translating a person's imagination and creativity into visual art. Critically, AI art generators lower the time and skill barrier to creation for people who would benefit from engaging in art but cannot because of time, training, mobility, or financial constraints. They thus provide unique healthcare opportunities: Patients can use AI art to explore and visualize their symptoms or to cope and escape. Healthcare workers can use AI art to reflect on challenging or meaningful experiences.

This presentation will discuss specific cases where AI art generators have already been used to improve the patient experience and enhance reflective medical practice. These cases will demonstrate real, practical applications of this technology, such as having a patient make AI art as a way to learn more about the patient's symptoms and social history.

With the great promise of this technology comes a need for responsible use, so this presentation will also discuss the ethical implications of AI art generators in healthcare. These include copyright, patient privacy, and potential bias in AI-generated artwork.

AI art tools have the potential to facilitate communication between our patients and us and to enable more people to engage in the visual arts part of the health humanities. Discussing their benefits and pitfalls will allow us to plan for their responsible and meaningful use.