Generative art refers to art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an artwork that would otherwise require decisions made directly by the artist.
Wikipedia
Going back to a driving premise of the course, “Drawing as a way of knowing”, what can we understand of a system by seeing the marks it makes? Conversely, how can we make different marks by changing the system?
Step out of the world of art into an old ice cream shop. If you look at the floor in front of the ice cream freezers, you’ll see that it’s different there. The tile has been altered by people trodding back and forth, peering through the glass, over decades, deciding which decadent confection they’ll have.
Here’s an excellent link with some history on generative art.