Quantum computing and generative art, is there anything actually being made with this or is it still theoretical - in 2026

[TeaAndCode72]

Q: Are artists using quantum computing to make art in 2026 or is it still a press release concept?

A: Genuinely both. The press release version is common, artists claiming quantum outputs from processes that are actually classical simulations. The real version is rarer but exists. IBM Quantum and some academic programs have artists in residence who run actual circuits on real quantum hardware and use the probability distributions and measurement outcomes as generative inputs. The outputs are unpredictable in a genuinely non-classical way because the randomness comes from quantum measurement rather than a pseudo-random number generator

[Jeffy]

The distinction between genuine quantum randomness and classical pseudo-randomness as an artistic input is philosophically interesting even if visually indistinguishable

[Dan]

Is it though. Can an audience actually perceive the difference between art generated using quantum measurement versus a Mersenne twister

[Glenn]

Probably not perceptually. The argument for authentic quantum randomness is more conceptual than aesthetic

[StoneCold]

The conceptual framing matters in contemporary art though. The provenance of how something was made is part of the work in a lot of contexts

[SilverSurfer]

IBM's artist in residence program has produced some genuinely interesting circuit visualisation work. The quantum circuit diagrams themselves have an aesthetic quality

[ShadowPilot]

Ryoji Ikeda has been doing data and science based sound and visual art for decades. His quantum related work is the serious version of this

[Marnie]

The NFT wave produced a lot of quantum art claims that were completely fabricated. Damaged the credibility of the genuine work

[DarkEnergy27]

Quantum noise as texture in generative visual art is the application I find most convincing. Not as a gimmick but because the statistical properties of quantum measurement are genuinely different from classical noise

[Seb83]

Anyone have links to actual quantum generated art that is worth looking at rather than just reading about