Hello, I’m Pang Ying. Welcome to the post-debate reflection for Episode 26 of Think Like a Debater.

What does artistic value mean, and what qualifies as artistically valuable? That is the crux of the motion. Let me explain my affirmative strategy for arguing that AI-created works do have artistic value.

I could proceed in two ways:

first, accept established definitions of artistic value and show that AI work meets them;

second, argue that technological and social change requires us to update our understanding of artistic value. I combined these two approaches.

From my perspective, it was advantageous to let Zhan Qingyun define artistic value first.This is a strategic choice. Some motions favor defining first, others defining second, much like first-mover and second-mover advantages in business. In negotiation, sometimes you should make the first offer; sometimes you should hear the other side’s offer first.

If Zhan and I each offered a definition of art, the debate would become a contest over which definition was better. It was slightly easier for me to wait, avoid committing to one definition, and then dismantle hers.

Suppose I divided her standard into five criteria and showed that AI met four. If it missed only the fifth, I could argue that this was exactly where our standard should change with the times.

This may offer a useful lesson: when an argument is difficult to build in a debate or dispute, consider replacing defense with attack.

Why is dismantling a definition of artistic value easier than building one? Because artistic value is elusive. Consider an analogy:

Person A says human beings are sacred. Person B asks which part is sacred—bone, muscle, blood, or fat? Cats have all those parts in different forms, so why are cats not another kind of sacred being?

That analogy is deliberately exaggerated. In the debate I might instead say that humans are sacred because they dream beyond reality and act to change it. AI also has goals beyond present reality, such as parameters and user requirements, and can change reality through systems such as robotic production lines. Does that make AI sacred too?

Zhan said art must understand people, connect past and present, possess beauty, and tell a story. If I could make her list concrete standards, I could identify comparable AI abilities or characteristics for nearly every one.