THE RANDOMISER

Gary Gillatt paints a picture of what Karfel and Kaldor City can tell us about the future of the art world.

I n March last year, sci-fi author and artist Joanna Maciejewska wept into the abyss of social media hellsite X. “The problem with artificial intelligence is that it’s pushing in the wrong direction,” she lamented. “I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so I can do art and writing. Not for AI to do my art and writing so I can do my laundry and dishes.” Joanna’s sentiment chimed with countless other creatives. Especially those who believe generative AI has already stolen and mimicked their work.

With humanity living on the bleeding edge of this technology, what insight might Doctor Who offer into the future of the visual arts in the wider universe? Alas, the prognosis is grim. There’s mention of galleries on other worlds – the Academia Stellaris, the Solarian Pinaquotheque – but the museums we actually visit only display rockets and guns rather than, say, the Dulkis version of Guernica. However, there are some pockets of creativity. Karfel nurtures an underground art movement inspired by the 1973 Dr Who Annual, while the planet of the Sandminers has struck the right deal with the household AI regarding chores – well, bar the odd strangulation. This allows the populace to devote themselves to the pre-eminent art form of ‘workwear’, fetishised and wildly baroque. One imagines even the bus drivers of Kaldor City dress like Cardi B at the Met Gala.