AI as an Art Form

((PKG)) AI AS AN ART FORM
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((Topic Banner: Programming AI [Artificial Intelligence] to Dream))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor/Producer: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Los Angeles, California))
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((Opening shots are Courtesy of MoMA 00:00:00-00:10:09))
((Courtesy: MoMA))
((Refik Anadol
Artist))
It was 2008 when, I think, I coined the term “data painting”, and I’m still looking for anyone else before 2008 who used this wording. In 2008, I started to work with custom algorithms and software’s, which is allowing me and team to understand the invisible pattern of data around us. In 2016, I was one of the first-generation artists working with AI [Artificial Intelligence] at Google. And Google invited an artist to learn how to use AI to create art. And the idea here is to try to create experiences with using collective memories of humanity. This can be the image archive such as nature, or space such as NASA JPL [Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory], Mars, ISS [International Space Station], Hubble [Hubble Space Telescope],
((Courtesy: MoMA))
or it can be culture such as MoMA, Museum of Modern Art archives.
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((Refik Anadol
Artist))
So in the studio, we are working with a diverse amount of archival data sets, and letting machine-learning algorithms to learn from them to create machine hallucinations or machine dreams.
So here, we are seeing an incredible amount of millions of images about nature. Like specifically this part you are seeing here is the flowers. And from this data, if you come here, we trained an AI. And this is a real time AI application. It may be one of the first in the world that allows us to look at what AI learned from that data.
So here, I’m flying literally in the mind of a machine. And on the right side, this algorithm can create almost realistic photos of flowers. And as you see here is also real time, can interact with AI’s mind.
((Refik Anadol
Artist))
This, for example, algorithm can real time go and find an image here and represents what the machine can dream.
So what you are watching here is, for example, this one. It’s literally taking 300 million raw image archives from nature and reconstructing the data sculpture.
Here, we are watching an AI kind of dreaming the dreams of a satellite, such as ISS, MRO [Magdalena Ridge Observatory], and Hubble Telescope. And Hubble Telescope by NASA JPL is recording the universe for us, the galaxies for us. And the question was, what would be the dream of a telescope, and how can we visualize the dreams?
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((Refik Anadol
Artist))
AI, in my mind, is a collaborative co-creator, the idea of working with large data sets that are beyond our capacity of, as humans’ capacity of imagination, and even, I guess, cognitive capacity. Like let’s imagine a million images of all the flowers in the world. There is no single way to remember all the flowers in the world. But with AI algorithm, I can easily say that in this AI model, there is all the flower types in this AI model. Now, I want to imagine a brush that I can put in this mind of a machine and paint with this pigmentation. To me, the artmaking is still the artmaking. But the brush itself is invented, the pigment is invented, the context is invented from scratch.
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((Refik Anadol
Artist))
This tool is intelligent. This tool can enhance the human mind and our capacity of imagination, learning, remembering. Our cognitive capacity can be enhanced by AI. I see a lot of possibilities in a good way. Instead of pushing humans out, I’m just more seeing that as a human, using AI for me, enhancing my skill set. AI is allowing me to go beyond what I can do. I’m seeing, not a threat, but more like an advantage of like applying to my conscious model, cognitive capacity. AI can bring an extreme positive possibilities for humanity. It’s really all about how we look from and where we look from. And I do believe AI is just a form of mirror. And that’s about humanity, not about AI.
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