GENERATIVE AI IN POLITICAL ART AND SOCIAL COMMENTARY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i1s.2026.7072Keywords:
Generative AI, Political Art, Social Commentary, Algorithmic Aesthetics, Visual Culture, Digital ActivismAbstract [English]
Generative artificial intelligence is taking on a new form of visual representation, commentary on the political arena, and engagement with society in novel ways, through the facilitation of new forms of visual expression, criticism and civic participation. In this paper, the authors discuss the integration of generative AI models such as GANs, diffusion models and transformer-based multimodal systems into political art practices to build the narratives of resistance, satire, and ideological reflection. The paper is based on the critical theory and cultural studies, and the conceptualization of AI-generated political art as a socio-technical assemblage in which the algorithmic aesthetics collide with power, representation, and cultural memory. It employs a qualitative-computational approach, which is a visual analysis of AI-created artworks along with the analysis of datasets based on protest images, media archives, and activist visual cultures. The analysis of text-to-image generation, style transfer, and prompt engineering as symbolism amplification, emotion, and politics message mechanisms is presented in the study. Case studies showcase how AI can be used to create protest posters, political memes and satirical caricature in a short period of time, as well as expose the issues of authorship, authenticity and ideological bias. The results demonstrate that generative AI democratizes the process of creating political art and extends the sphere of participatory visuality, but at the same time, it creates risks in the fields of misinformation, aesthetic homogenization, and algorithmic manipulation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Maroti V. Kendre, Sakshi Singh, Tushar Jadhav, Prapti Pandey, Gayathri B, Amit Kumar Singh
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