WEEK 3: ART AND ROBOTICS

Technology pervades almost every aspect of our lives. So it is only natural to assume that the field of robotics would have a deep impact in the field of art. However, this week’s lecture made the interesting point that once again there is a two-way dialogue between art and sciences, and in this instance art and robotics.

Walter Benjamin discussed one interesting influence of robotics on art in the essay “The Work of Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction”.  He talks about how technology can help us replicate a work of art perfectly, but in this process the artwork loses its authenticity or its “aura”. Benjamin rights points out that with an artwork there is attached element of “time and space” which lends to its uniqueness and worth and is lost when reproduced.

A cybernetic kinetic sculpture
Robotics has also had a massive positive influence on art, such as the emergence of cybernetic art. According to a paper written by Michael Apter, cybernetics has influenced art in at least two ways: viewing machines as works of art and using machines to create art. A really cool example of this is a project by Google Brain team called Project Magenta, which is trying to find out if a machine can create it own music and artwork. This could well be another massive step toward artificial intelligence, as robots would be able to be creative.


This leads us to another interesting topic discussed in the resources this week, which was the concept of artificial intelligence. The video about the “self-aware” robots was fascinating. The fact that the robot could figure out what it looked like and without any physical trials, find a way to move forward is absolutely amazing. There are great advancements being made in this field. In the BBC article by Bianca Nogrady, she lists ways in which AI is helping us. One example she lists is a collaboration between Google and UK’s National Health Service developing a software which can help diagnose cancer and eye disease in patients.


At the same time a lot of concerns have risen. Famous scientists such as Stephen Hawking have expressed concerns that artificial intelligence has the potential to outsmart humans. This has become a famous theme in movies, for example in Terminator and Ex Machina.



Art and robotics have a great influence on one another, and as technology continues to grow, this dialogue will increase exponentially.

References:

Apter, Michael J. "Cybernetics And Art". Leonardo 2.3 (1969): 257. Web.
Blunden, Andy. "E Work Of Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction". Marxists.org. N.p., 1998. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
Eck, Douglas. "Welcome To Magenta!". Magenta.tensorflow.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
Lipson, Hod. "Building "Self-Aware" Robots". Ted.com. N.p., 2007. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.
Nogrady, Bianca. "The Real Risks Of Artificial Intelligence". Bbc.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

Comments

  1. tedatuclaApril 26, 2017 at 12:03 AM

    I enjoyed reading your post this week. I agree that introducing artificial intelligence to art is interesting. You mentioned self-aware robots as the next big breakthrough, as illustrated by the movie Ex Machina. Do you think that the ability to appreciate and create art is what differentiates humans from machines?
    On a related note, you mentioned machines as works of art. I, too, think a lot of people don't appreciate the aesthetic value of careful engineering design. For example, one of my favorite types of this "art" is custom computers with color-coordinated liquid cooling systems.

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