First AI Generated Image (1973): History & Origins

The Genesis of Digital Creativity: Inside the Creation of AARON in 1973

Long before smartphones could render hyper-realistic portraits from a simple text prompt, the concept of artificial intelligence creating art was already coming to life.

In 1973, British painter and computer scientist Harold Cohen did something revolutionary. Instead of using a paintbrush himself, he began developing a computer program that would make its own artistic choices. That program was called AARON, and it marked a monumental milestone as the world’s first AI art system.

Meet AARON: The Pioneer of Computer Art

Today’s image generators rely on massive neural networks trained on billions of scraped photographs. But back in 1973, computing power was a fraction of what it is today, and machine learning as we know it didn’t exist.

Instead, Harold Cohen took a deeply conceptual approach:

• Rule-Based Logic: Cohen didn’t just teach the computer how to copy lines; he coded human cognitive rules about drawing, perspective, composition, and physical space directly into the program.
• Autonomous Decision-Making: Once AARON was running, Cohen didn’t dictate what the final image would look like. The program made independent choices on composition, layout, and how objects related to one another on the canvas.
• Humble Beginnings: The earliest outputs of AARON were primitive, abstract, black-and-white line drawings. Over the decades, Cohen continuously updated AARON, eventually allowing it to handle complex shapes, human figures, and even vibrant colors using custom-built drawing machines.

Why 1973 Matters Today

It is easy to look at a 1970s computer drawing and compare it to the instantaneous, ultra-detailed outputs we see today. However, AARON’s creation in 1973 fundamentally challenged a core human question: What does it mean to be creative?

By proving that a machine could autonomously execute a creative act based on coded rules, Cohen bridged the gap between computer science and fine art. AARON went on to exhibit work in prestigious locations worldwide, including the Tate Modern and the Whitney Museum of American Art.