Paul Freeman brings AI collaborative art to Calgary Public Library

Paul Freeman is now the Calgary Public Library's first creative-in-residence collaborating in AI, working Tuesdays and Wednesdays until Labour Day. His office is open to the public to learn about his practice and ask questions on AI art.

"I'm here not as an AI defender, not as an AI advocate, but more as somebody who's interested in asking these questions and open to other ideas about AI, art and what it could be," Freeman said. "I'm definitely here to be a resource to the library and to the city."

Freeman, a Calgary-born artist and AUArts graduate, first engaged with AI image generation in 2002. He's developed a collaborative approach that wrestles with the technology's inherent problems. "That didn't sort of put AI in the position of 'you tell me and I'll do it for you,' which I think we've all kind of figured out at this point that that's its fundamental problem," he said.

His process relies heavily on human intention. Freeman uses prompts to generate multiple images, layers them together, combines them, then sends them through AI again to morph into something new. His works can exceed 5 billion pixels in scale—images detailed enough to cover a wall. "There are thousands and thousands of decisions that have been made by the time this thing has grown to a billion pixels, and that's the same as what a painter is doing, pushing mud around on a canvas."

The residency drew controversy before Freeman's arrival, but he hopes to convince skeptics through his work and public conversations. At the end of his term, he will showcase pieces created during his time at the library. "A fundamental question all artists struggle with is how they can prevent their work from being stolen by AI," he said, noting this needs to be addressed at a policy level.