“I type a question into the void / It answers faster than my heartbeat…”
Kaili Zhang’s submission to Gator Create, UF’s 2nd annual AI art competition, was a poem titled “The Algorithm’s Fool (A Human-Machine Co-Dream).” The 32-year-old UF sociology graduate student’s poem depicts a conversation between two voices, one of a human and the other of an AI model, discussing ideas of knowledge and what it means to be human.
Hosted on Oct. 27, Gator Create 2025 encouraged students to show how “human imagination can be enhanced by AI tools” and featured a grand prize of $199, with smaller prizes offered to category winners. Over 800 participants attended the broader AI Days event, of which Gator Create was a part.
While ChatGPT 5.0 generated the poem, Zhang changed its tone, imagery and rhythmic structure. She thinks of AI as a collaborator that allows her to achieve her artistic vision.
“I see AI like a vehicle, like a car or an airplane,” Zhang said. “You can always walk around, but when you learn to drive AI well, you can fly.”
Zhang’s poem was accompanied by an artistic cover that ChatGPT also generated, depicting a foolish man dressed as a joker facing an anthropomorphized AI model. When asked why she didn’t opt for a human artist, Zhang argued that artists are both more expensive and less accessible than AI models. The model didn’t replace a job, because without it, the cover simply wouldn’t exist.
“AI is not a shortcut,” Zhang said. “It's a new medium. It doesn't remove the creativity, it relocates it. The human still shapes the direction, emotion and meaning.”
But for many art students, AI poses a threat.
As AI art becomes more popular, many artists worry their jobs could be replaced by computers. Oskar Garcia, a 21-year-old UF graphic design senior, said she’s noticed fewer companies hiring designers.
Some major companies, like Coca-Cola and Toys “R” Us, have produced AI-generated ads or marketing materials. The change is “threatening and disheartening,” Garcia said.
UF has embraced AI across disciplines, too. Students can earn a university-wide AI certificate, and the College of the Arts offers a specialized certificate for AI in the arts. In October, UF unveiled HiPerGator 4.0, the fastest university-owned supercomputer in the country.
Not all students are on board. In May, the School of Art and Art History received backlash for an Instagram post that students suspected was created with AI.
“The college, with all of the students that are constantly making art, couldn't hire or commission or ask a student to volunteer a work to post?” Garcia said.
Part of what makes the AI art competition especially offensive to Garcia is the large prize pool. Gator Create offered prizes up to nearly $200, while opportunities for arts students to compete for money are sparse, he said.
Some students were also concerned by the sources of AI art. AI models are trained using pre-existing, human-made works and can often draw from copyrighted material without the consent of the copyright holder.
UF is making a major push towards AI technology to prepare students for a rapidly emerging industry. But 21-year-old political science and art history senior Carol Velandia said the rush forward has left some students feeling trampled.
Part of what makes art special is the amount of time and effort it takes, she said, and generative models skip over that.
“Companies have been pushing employees to the side for roles that can be done by AI,” Velandia said. “It's kind of concerning because there's this instant gratification demand that AI satisfies and satiates for these companies.”
Contact Christopher Rodriguez at crodriguez@alligator.org. Follow him on X @ChrisRodri29386
