MY MIND, ILLUSTRATED. INTERVIEW WITH NINA LEMM

My Mind, Illustrated

Interview with Nina Lemm, AI Artist and Set Designer from Berlin

Insta @art_and_intelligence

1. Do you remember the moment you realized AI could become part of your creative expression?

Yes, I do. I was working on a photography set as a set designer when the photographer showed me an image from an imaginary AI campaign. It featured a striking model in a surreal sculptural environment with colorful totems in the background. I was stunned. If this wasn’t real, I knew I had to learn how to do it. No one would ever spend tens of thousands to realize such a vision in the physical world. As a set designer, I adore real scenarios, but the cost, effort, and waste involved can be overwhelming. Now, I can build incredible sets from the comfort of my sofa.

2. How has your creative process changed since you started working with generative tools?

I used to scribble my ideas and collect reference images that already existed. Now, I can express my wildest dreams with visually precise results—professionally “photographed” with remarkable detail. My visual stumbling has turned into an eloquent flow of images. And video is the next step I’m excitedly diving into.

3. What drew you in at first—the technical possibilities, the element of surprise, or the sense that there might be a new kind of consciousness to explore?

It was the surprise. A friend introduced me playfully to Midjourney, and within five minutes I had created a cute smiling monster—it completely stole my heart. That was during the early days, when the model’s training data had a deeply artistic feel. I was enchanted. This tech bridges a gap for me: I speak five languages, so I can prompt with nuance, but I don’t need the technical skills of CGI rendering or years of drawing practice. I taught myself everything I now know—and I love sharing it in workshops.

AI isn’t conscious. It doesn’t dream its own dreams. But it helps us see ours more clearly, through a strange and beautiful lens.

4. How do you think AI can be integrated into the creative world in a way that enhances human input rather than replacing it?

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, once said, “AI won’t replace you—but someone using AI will.” One highly skilled creative armed with AI tools can generate outcomes that used to take teams. But the intelligent machine is nothing without the sensitive human. Our contribution is irreplaceable.

That said, we’re entering a powerful new industrial revolution. Some jobs will become obsolete—but others will emerge. We should all start learning these shiny new tools. Conversations around universal basic income are important, too.

The Jevons Paradox is relevant here: when a more efficient steam engine was invented, coal use didn’t decrease—it soared, because people used the engines more. Similarly, AI-generated visuals are likely to trigger an explosion of online image creation.

5. What new roles or sensitivities do you think might emerge thanks to this technology?

AI will shape a new visual language. It's a fantastic brainstorming tool for products, film sets, or campaigns. For example, the designer Tina Bobbe developed Memphis-style coffee machines using AI—now in production. Andres Reisinger imagined pink-veiled architecture on Instagram—and secured sponsors to build it in real life. In a sea of visuals, editing and curating become essential. The curator is now as important as the creator.

6. What do you think is the biggest risk right now, with all the excitement around AI in the art world?

That younger generations might lose the ability to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not. AI-generated faces and spaces can’t be recreated in the physical world, yet they’re all over social media. This could deeply impact teenagers developing their sense of self.

It might lead to frustration, insecurity, and disconnection.

Also, as Herbert Simon said: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” We risk attention burnout in a flood of seductive content.

7. In your opinion, what should we be careful about so we don’t lose the true meaning of artistic creation when working with AI?

I worry about losing analog technical skills, just like Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, who called AI “an insult to life itself.” While it’s great to speed up animation pipelines, if no one develops their own hand-drawn styles, the machine ends up feeding on itself—and we lose diversity. Surface may overpower substance. That’s the danger.

8. Do you think it’s possible to evoke real emotion in work co-created with AI?

Absolutely. That’s both the thrill and the risk. When the first images of fantasy AI jungle hotels with waterfall balconies hit Instagram, people desperately tried to book them—believing they were real.

Now, we’re more skeptical.

Remember the first time we saw Jurassic Park? We believed the dinosaurs were real. Our rational brain might know it’s fake—but our older, emotional brain believes what it sees. It’s the modern duality we live in.

9. What do you hope to achieve with your work in AI art? Is it more about innovation—or about expressing something traditional tools can’t reach?

Honestly, I feel like this machine was made for me. It gives me a new way to express myself that I never had before. Hidden creative treasures inside me are finally coming to the surface. It’s liberating.

10. If you could leave your mark on this field today, what would it be? A new aesthetic, a new ethic, or maybe a new kind of creative space?

I always wanted to become a film set designer. But after years in that world, I hit a glass ceiling—as a creative, playful woman. What I’ve always dreamed of is to create emotionally immersive spaces and objects. Maybe, with this leap into AI, I’ve just taken a big step toward that dream.