Computing is often invited to take part in roundtable debates and to speak at conferences, but an event last night was something of a first. As part of our involvement in Microsoft's DesignIT competition for IT professionals to design new systems for their favourite charity, we were invited to take part in a debate on the overlap between technology and art.

I have sat on panels with chief executives, IT directors and business leaders, but never before a founder of the Stuckist movement - self-appointed guardians of 'proper' art, who are found each year protesting outside the Turner Prize exhibit often dressed as clowns. The name Stuckist is a sarcastic reference to a quote by controversial artist Tracey Emin who said: 'Your paintings are stuck, you are stuck!  Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!'

Also on the panel was Dan Proops, an up and coming artist who draws his inspiration from technology - bizarrely, often Microsoft products too. This is an example of his work -


Proops' original artwork of this image is apparently worth about £10,000. Next time you see your least-favourite Windows error message, try viewing it as inspiration for your art, not a reason to bolster the swearbox.

The panel took place in a central London art gallery decked out with original works created by students of the Slade School of Fine Art, each inspired by the finalists in the DesignIT competition in an attempt to stress the confluence of art and IT.

It was an unusual audience too, a mix of technology journalists and art writers - not difficult to spot which was which from the way they were dressed.

The DesignIT art ranged from the cleverto the obscure - Jauna Awad's 'multimedia installation'  to accompany DesignIT winner Said Dajani's  system for the Alzheimer's Society (a projector and a glass creating the image of a 'curtain' over the figure of a woman) was my favourite (although you needed to see it to appreciate it).

For cynical tech writers, works described as 'using the colour of ying and yang to emphasise the disharmony of pollution' left us a bit cold. Mind you, I'm sure an IT product described as a 'world class end-to-end solution to integrate the business processes of a synergistic supply chain' or much of the guff that populates vendor marketing material would no doubt produce a similar reaction in the art world.

But is technology art? Well, clearly not. But the barriers are blurring. There is little doubt that in 50 years time the iPod will be revered as a prime example of successful early 21st century art and design.  Many of the artists present acknowledged the critical role that technology plays in helping to create their art.  And certainly as technology becomes more and more an enabler for change in society and culture, it will become as intrinsic to art as it is to business.

But is IT art? The people that work in IT are certainly among the most creative and innovative individuals in modern businesses, and surely creativity is at the heart of great art. A good system design is a personal interpretation of a business problem - it may not use oil or pastels, but it is creative, logical, and designed to inspire an emotional reaction.

And if photography is art, then does technology not make us all potential artists with a digital camera or mobile phone camera in our hands?

It was an amusing debate, and not one that will take place in many IT departments. But the creativity and innovation involved in using technology to improve and change the way we live and work is certainly an art of its own.