Abstract
This paper examines the complex nature of authorship as it is reshaped within technologically mediated creativity. Drawing on theoretical perspectives on authorship, agency, and technological mediation, it argues against binary notions of artistic originality and instead frames the author as a “node” within a vast network of technological and cultural influences. Through two practice-based case studies—generative musical systems developed in Bitwig Studio’s The Grid, and the coding of an album-art generator in collaboration with OpenAI’s Codex—the paper explores how different forms of uncertainty emerge when creative decision-making is partially delegated to systems that behave unpredictably or autonomously. In these contexts, authorship is shown to arise through the designing of creative systems, collaboration with non-human agents, and curatorial judgement of output, rather than through complete control over material outcomes. Rather than identifying this as a loss of artistic responsibility, this model of authorship is proposed as a productive framework for understanding creativity in contemporary technology-centric creative practice.
Recommended Citation
Carroll, Patrick
(2026)
"Distributed Authorship in Technologically Mediated Creativity,"
Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://creo.sae.edu.au/imaginings/vol2/iss1/4