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Is That Painting a Lost Masterpiece or a Fraud? Let’s Ask AI


A dubious “Van Gogh” has sparked a battle between technology, connoisseurs, and the high-stakes art market. What does AI, which is transforming art authentication, have to say about the verdict?

Artificial intelligence has to date been enlisted as a bogeyman in cultural circles: Software will take the jobs of writers and translators, and AI-generated images ring the death toll for illustrators and graphic designers. If it’s deemed a fake, or rather in this case a derivative work by someone named Elimar who daubed a bit on canvas, distantly inspired by Van Gogh perhaps, but with none of his talents, it's virtually worthless—about as valuable as you might expect to find at a flea market in Minnesota for under 50 bucks. Despite extensive efforts, no museum or auction house accepted the work as genuine, leaving it unsold and its status forever in limbo—a stark example of how difficult (and subjective) authentication can be when money, reputations, and scientific claims collide.

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