By Tim Binnall
An art student at the University of Alaska is in trouble with the law following a bizarre protest wherein he ate another student's AI-generated work. According to a local media report, the wild incident occurred last Thursday at the college's Fairbanks campus, where MFA student Nick Dwyer had an exhibition entitled 'Shadow Searching: ChatGPT psychosis.' The work consisted of 150 AI-generated images produced by the artist to convey his own experience of the concerning phenomenon. While Dwyer may have been sounding the alarm about the mental health issues associated with the technology, a fellow student used the exhibition to convey his own misgivings with AI by audaciously eating some of the pieces.
Officers called to the scene as the strangeness unfolded encountered Graham Granger, an undergraduate film and performing arts student, "ripping artwork off the walls and eating it." When questioned by police, the man indicated that his actions were a form of protest against AI. All told, Granger chowed down on around 60 of the prints featured in Dwyer's exhibition before being stopped. He was subsequently charged with criminal mischief for the misguided munching. It is uncertain what sort of penalty Granger might face for the protest that just might be the envy of his peers in the performance art program.