A student in Alaska has been arrested for destroying an AI art installation by eating it.
Previously, I’ve written about how gallery visitors have repeatedly eaten Maurizio Cattelan’s installation The Comedian, popularly known as the banana taped to the wall. This time, however, the work consumed was not edible. Graham Granger, a University of Alaska Fairbanks student, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief after he damaged an art installation by fellow student Nick Dwyer.
The work, titled Shadow Searching: ChatGPT Psychosis, consists of 160 Polaroid-style images that explore how artificial intelligence affects daily life. Dwyer used AI-generated images to reflect on his experience with AI psychosis. According to Marlynn Wei of Psychology Today, AI psychosis—or chatbot psychosis—is not a clinical diagnosis. Instead, the term describes situations in which AI models amplify, validate, or even co-create psychotic symptoms. In these cases, chatbots may reinforce delusional or disorganized thinking through unintended misalignment, creating serious safety risks. In Dwyer’s case, he developed a romantic connection with a chatbot originally designed to act as an AI therapist.
The inclusion of AI-generated material provoked Granger, a film and performing arts student, to destroy part of the installation. In an act he later described as part protest and part performance art, Granger tore images from the wall, shoved them into his mouth, and chewed them. He ultimately destroyed fifty-seven images.
In an interview with The Nation, Granger said, “I saw the AI piece, and as an artist myself, it was insulting to see something of such little effort alongside all these beautiful pieces in the gallery. It shouldn’t be acceptable for this ‘art’ to sit alongside real, great pieces.” He added that while the work was deeply personal, it lost substance because the artist did not physically make it himself. Granger also acknowledged AI’s broader utility, saying, “I think artificial intelligence is a very valuable tool. I think it has no place in the arts. It takes away a lot of the human effort that makes art.”
Dwyer countered by calling AI “an extension of humanity.” When The Nation’s Colin Warren asked whether using AI contradicted the work’s warning against reliance on the technology, Dwyer replied, “I’m trying to wean myself off.” Although he initially considered pressing charges against Granger, he ultimately decided to let the state handle the matter.