A mere tool, or a non-human collaborator: this is how a sizable portion of artists working with artificial intelligence (AI) describe the role it takes in their practice. However intimidated by a cumbersome, presumed “creativity of the machine,” they do not see their authorship as limited. Yet, what if we were to reverse this perspective? What role could we consider the artist-user to play from the standpoint of the machine? By interacting with an AI system, a user consumes a commercial product, provides additional training data, fine-tunes the software, and expands its reach and appeal to other users and to investors. From this perspective, it is not the user but the machine that assumes the dominant position. Is it possible to find a mediation between these two seemingly irreconcilable forms of the relationship? Who, in the human-AI relationship, does the using, and who is it that is used? Who is in control? And should a reconciliation not prove to be possible, what then is the role of art and artists interfacing with AI? By exploring a number of case studies, this text identifies the path of art through critical exploration, while eschewing mystification and unveiling the biases that inform the current form of AI.