Feverish narratives of artistic AI-revolution obscure the fact that empirical documentation of the actual impacts of artificial intelligence on artistic practices is still sparse. This paper focuses on the frictions of working with AI artistically. Based on interviews with 20 AI-artists, we 1) demonstrate that frictions experienced with the technological elements of the work processes with AI are inseparably intertwined with the artists’ socio-material realities and the inherent asymmetries of access, and 2) show how frictional ambivalence and unpredictability in artistic interactions with AI tools function both as restrictive and productive elements of the art-making processes, presenting opportunities to reframe the core notions of artistic agency, authorship, and the ontology of art.We discuss these findings in the context of HCI and critical data studies and provide three invitations for designing with and for frictions. Our empirical work contributes to a deeper understanding of the emerging community of AI-artists and invites new mindful perspectives for the design and development of Creative AI applications.