Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Chairman Mao, portrayed above by Andy Warhol, wrote: 'communists … maintain control with the power of the pen.' Photograph: AP/Christie's

For ages, artists have asked difficult questions about the human condition. It is their privilege to pursue such questions without needing to yield practical results. As individuals, and as a society, we can never really say we know everything. Society allows artists to explore what we don't know in ways that are distinct from the approaches of science, religion and philosophy. As a result, art bears a unique responsibility in the search for truth.

Art is a social practice that helps people to locate their truth. The truth itself, or the so-called truth presented by the media, has limitations. Manipulation of the truth does not lead to a lack of truth – it's worse than no truth. Manipulated truths help the powerful, or advance the positions of the people who publicize them. So the arts and journalistic media play completely different roles.

I think it is important for artists to see themselves as privileged, and to bear some responsibility, because their job is about communication and expression. These are the core values of life, of being individuals. Most people don't realize that they have to fight for this, but for us artists, it's necessary.

By mixing art with personal observations and social commentary, I became part of the first generation to use the internet well. At first, I would spend day and night online – 16 hours a day, or even 24 hours, if important events were unfolding. I became excited about bloggingbecause I thought it was a way for me to accomplish something I always desired: direct communication. My first blog post in 2005 was a single sentence:

"To express yourself needs a reason; expressing yourself is the reason."