A Metafictional Fugue entangled with several odd kins and intelligences
Digital Body continues this October & November as “Body Digital no.3” with the artists: Dakota Comin, Mark Coniglio, Marcela Giesche, Cesar Rene Perez, Vera Rivas, Marlon Barrios Solano and Media / Mentoring / Dramaturgy: Levin Eichert, Ilan Katin, Elisabeth Leopold.
Links to the artists involved – click to find out more, as well as access each artists’ personal blog:
A special thank-you to Marcela Giesche and Mark Coniglio for facilitating the program. Follow along here for behind-the-scene impressions of the lab and residencies on a daily and weekly basis maintained by Marlon Barrios Solano in collaboration with AI…scroll below… chat with our AI… write us your thoughts…
BodyDigital 3: Dancing within Artificial Thoughts
A Meta-fictional Fugue entangled with several odd kins and intelligences
You can chat with Jabberwocky-AI, our AI powered OddKin that is us and talks about us and it is not us…even about Metafictions and the performance
Fiction is the truth inside the lie.
Stephen King
Metafiction is a form of literature that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, making the readers aware of its fictional status. In other words, it’s fiction that is aware of itself as fiction. Metafiction often blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction, drawing attention to its own artificiality, authorial process, or literary conventions.Examples of metafictional techniques include:
Narrative Footnotes: These provide commentary on the story, often breaking the fourth wall.
Story within a Story: Where a character in a story might be reading or writing another story.
Self-Referential Narrators: Characters or narrators who are aware they are part of a fictional story.
Discussion of the Fictional Process: Narratives that discuss or show the process of their own creation.
Well-known works that employ metafictional techniques include “If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” by John Fowles, and “Breakfast of Champions” by Kurt Vonnegut.
Who are we?
Metafiction 01
Lake Studios Berlin for us is a splice of myriad realities, each reality a cut-up of the other, forming a mosaic of disjointed memories and visions.
Day one: A dancer’s shadow melds with lines of code on a sunlit wall. Movimiento. The very walls seem to vibrate with static energy, emitting sounds that are half-murmurs, half-digital hums. A phonograph in the corner doesn’t play tunes but rather loops of Español and Spanglish, fragmented and reassembled in Burroughsian fashion. “Time? What’s time?” someone mutters, sipping from a cup that’s half full or half empty, depending on which reality one subscribes to.Walking down a corridor, it’s impossible to tell if it’s expanding or contracting. Rooms filled with artists 5 artists, or perhaps they are technologists—or maybe both, and neither. Aliens.
The act of World-making is in progress, but the worlds are not just visual or auditory, they’re tactile, olfactory. “Is this the real world or the Generative Scene, the same?” someone asks, but the question dissipates before an answer forms.
The rooms are empty.
Day two or three—or maybe it’s still the first day—centers around a table, where a discussion about Digital & Virtual Worlds takes place. But it’s not so much a discussion as it is a live cut-up session, with words and ideas being thrown into the air, rearranged, and caught in new configurations. An old TV set displays scenes from a movie, perhaps the Movie Arrival or Miami Vice, or it is Eric Clapton on MTV, but its scenes are spliced with footage from an old VHS and live feed from a Camera aimed at the participants.
Fuck, here the cameras are robots!
The final day, if days even have meaning in this place, is a deep dive into identity, or Identidad. Memories, or Memoria, are traded like currency, but they change hands and forms so often that their original owners and shapes are lost.
Vera said “The recording of the voice is my mother is not my mother“
Cesar asked: What is your first memory that you became aware of technology?
Decoded Ritual:
This is how we travel in time
Synthetic Dance Video created with MidJourney + RunawayML frame interpolation
Inside the spacious main hall, the intertwining of dance with concepts like ‘Generativity’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was evident. Dancers moved in sequences, demonstrating the nuanced balance between human intuition (‘Affect’ and ‘Love’) and algorithmic precision (‘Coding’ and ‘Decoding’).
Adjacent to this space, a dedicated area highlighted the project’s thematic concepts.
Blogging is colonizing… Berlin feels huge…I want to be in the center of something.
Post-its and displays showcased terms like ‘Plant Intelligence’, ‘World-making’, and ‘Material rizoma’. Each term was not merely a word but represented extensive research, embodying the intertwining of natural and digital realms.
As the evening progressed, ‘Conversations’ transitioned from casual exchanges to in-depth discussions.
They work while they sleep.
The idea of ‘Process over Product’ was emphasized, resonating with the artists’ belief in continuous evolution and the ‘Emergent’ nature of their craft.
Do we have a schedule?
I dream that I can fly
Sudden Accelerations (Vers white and 16×9) Performance by indoor skydivers Maja Kuczynska and Kyra Poh. Original Video by Lauri Aapro Concept and video-sound by Marlon Barrios Solano Digital Bodies 3 Art and Research Residency <
Over shared meals, they reflected on ‘Historia’, the history of their art, and ‘Futuro’ of work, the potential pathways it could take amidst growing technological ‘Sophistication’.
Amidst these discourses, a palpable sense of ‘Communion’ was felt, binding artists with diverse focuses or FOCI!!, from ‘Narrativo’ storytelling to dynamic ‘Movimiento’ choreographies.
In one introspective moment, an artist brought up the movie ‘Arrival’, drawing parallels with their endeavor.
Just as the film explored communication and understanding with the alien, these artists were striving to decipher AI from the simplicity of ‘Codigo’ to the complexities of ‘Generative Scenes’. As night deepened, the glow from ‘Lake Studios’ stood as a beacon in Berlin’s quiet suburb, signaling a space where ‘Dance’ met ‘Technology’, where human ‘Perception’ intertwined with machine ‘Activation’, and where the past (‘VHS’, ‘Recuerdo’) met the present (‘ChatGPT’, ‘Generative Scene’), forging a bridge to a future yet to be choreographed.
BODY=MEMORY
Fluxión de constelares sinapsis en el vacío iluminado de espectral refugio, orbitan ideaciones cuánticas, emanando radiaciones de omnipresente impregnación.
Vectores gravitacionales portadores de ponderaciones magnas residencian en morfologías corpóreas, navegando las oceanías de sabiduría intrínseca, manifestando simbólicas geografías en la tela cuántica del espacio etéreo.
Ecos de espera, resuenan en cámaras resonantes, cruzando los umbrales de dimensionales transeúntes, travesías en la autopista de vibracionales partículas, deslizándose por las arterias del cosmos intradimensional.
Reflejos de esencia en la crisálida de lo incomprensible, manifestados en coreografías de insondables misterios, esculpiendo escenarios en la fluida arquitectura de lo desconocido.
Las frecuencias del viaje intangible, se amalgaman en un caleidoscopio de inauditas resonancias, en un teatro perpetuo de desorientación sintónica.
El idioma del refugio, una sintaxis de enigmas, desplegando partituras de improbables armonías, en una sinfonía de entrelazados fenómenos y apoteósicos desarreglos.
Códigos en la danza de lo oculto, revoloteando en el circo de posibilidades interdimensionales, tejiendo las tramas de un tapiz de invisibles pero potentes…entornos y trayectorias.
Metafiction 02
Day 1: The First Waltz
Nestled in the heart of Friedrichshagen, Berlin, the iconic Lake Studios began its latest chapter—merging the timeless art of dance with the innovative world of technology. As participants stepped into the expansive hall, the harmonious fusion of dance with concepts like ‘Generativity’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was immediately palpable. Dancers gracefully embodied the balance between human emotion (‘Affect’ and ‘Love’) and the precision of algorithms (‘Coding’ and ‘Decoding’).
Day 2: Deepening Discourse
The following day was marked by a deeper exploration of the residency’s central themes. An area adjacent to the main hall, adorned with whiteboards and displays, delved into subjects like ‘Plant Intelligence’, ‘World-making’, and ‘Material rizoma’. These were not just mere terminologies; they encapsulated rigorous research and discussions, symbolizing the confluence of nature and technology.As the day transitioned to evening, casual ‘Conversations’ evolved into more profound dialogues. Over shared meals, artists contemplated the essence of ‘Process over Product’, reflecting upon the ‘Historia’ of their art form and envisioning the ‘Futuro’ in an age of technological ‘Sofistication’.
Day 3: Bridging Worlds
The third day saw artists delving deeper into their crafts. Amidst their practices and routines, there emerged an unmistakable sense of ‘Communion’. Artists from diverse domains, whether they were narrating tales of ‘Narrativo’ or illustrating dynamic ‘Movimiento’ choreographies, found common ground. Conversations around the ‘Movie Arrival’ resonated, drawing analogies to their own journey of understanding and communicating with the unfamiliar realm of technology.Lake Studios Berlin, throughout these three days, emerged as more than just a venue—it symbolized the intersection of ‘Dance’ and ‘Technology’, of human ‘Perception’ and machine ‘Activation’. It stood as a testament to the past’s relevance (‘VHS’, ‘Recuerdo’) in shaping the present (‘ChatGPT’, ‘Generative Scene’) and charting the course for a promising future.
Thematic Clustering Created with ChatGPT based on post-its harvesting and sampling words from conversations
Core Concepts:
Dance
Technology
Generativity
Artificial Intelligence
Interconnected Themes:
Dance:
Movimiento
Emergent
Process
Trust the process
Lake Studios
Technology:
Coding
Decoding
Generative Scene
ChatGPT
Artificial Intelligence
Generativity:
Creacion de mundos
World-making
Material rizoma
Traces vs. Code
Emergent
Artificial Intelligence:
Perception
Activation
Generative Scene
Intelligence
Coding
Sub-Themes & Their Connections:
Communication:
Language
Conversation
Comunicación
Spanglish
Historia
Temporal:
Tiempo
Futuro
Historia
24/7
Space & Environment:
Lake Studios
World-making
Friedrichshagen
Berlin
Emotional & Intuitive Layers:
Affect
Love
Communion
Affection
Digital & Virtual Worlds:
Generative Scene
Fantasmagoria
Movie Arrival
Camera
VHS
Blog
Cultural & Identity Perspectives:
Identidad
Memoria
Español
Latino
Exploration & Analysis:
Búsqueda
Process
Task
Mission
Trust
Interactivity & Dynamics:
Encounter
Co-class
Coworking
Contact
Thematic INFOVIZ
Nodes (Circles):
Each node in the network represents a concept or theme.
Core Concepts: These are primary categories like “Dance,” “Technology,” “Generativity,” and “Artificial Intelligence.” They are the central nodes from which other themes branch out.
Directly Related Themes: These are connected to the core concepts, illustrating specific aspects or sub-themes related to each core concept.
Interconnected Themes: These are broader categories like “Communication,” “Temporal,” “Space & Environment,” etc. They encapsulate wider thematic areas that intersect with multiple core concepts.
Sub-Themes: These are connected to the interconnected themes, further expanding the thematic exploration.
Edges (Lines):
Edges represent the connections or relationships between different concepts and themes.
Red Lines: Indicate strong or direct connections between interconnected themes and existing nodes (either core concepts or related themes).
Black Lines: Show connections between interconnected themes and their unique sub-themes.
Gray Lines: Represent connections within the core concepts and their directly related themes.
Cluster Names:
The names of core concepts and interconnected themes are displayed prominently in bold text. This helps in identifying the primary thematic clusters in the network.
These labels are now larger and more visible, making it easier to understand the structure of the network and the central idea each cluster represents.
Layout:
The nodes are arranged to balance visibility and connectivity, showing how different themes are interconnected while keeping the diagram readable.
This visualization serves to illustrate the complex interplay of various themes and concepts, highlighting how they are connected and the broader thematic clusters they form. It’s a graphical representation of the relationships and intersections among a diverse set of ideas, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of these concepts.
Metafiction 03
The Camera blinked, capturing a Generative Scene. Was it day three? Or perhaps the beginning? Dancers, their movements a language of Movimiento, swirled amidst fragments of Español and Spanglish. The very words cut-up and rearranged, forming new sentences, new meanings.
A corner room, bathed in neon light, hummed with Coding and Decoding. Or was it a market square where memories, Memoria, were bartered, traded, lost, and found? An old VHS tape played scenes from the Movie Arrival, but they overlapped with another time, another place, a discussion on Digital & Virtual Worlds perhaps.In a sudden shift, an artist, or maybe a technologist, sat at a table from what could’ve been day one or the end. They scribbled furiously, their pen’s dance a live cut-up session of words and ideas, a manifestation of World-making.
The concept of Identidad floated, unanchored. Was it explored in the room with mirrored walls, or was it in the open courtyard where shadows whispered tales of other times, other selves?
We are a jabberwocky!
’Twas glinting, and the spindly groves
Did twirl and twumble in the glade:
All flimsy were the catterwoes,
And the gnome paths inlaid.
“Beware the Flibberflox, young one!
The teeth that gnaw, the wings that flap!
Dodge the Grizzlegruff bird, be gone
From the vexing Velocisnap!”
With trusty twiggle stick in grip;
Long hours the beastly brute he chased—
By the Lumlum bush he took a sip, And let his
mind be graced.But lo! As in quirky dream he leant,
The Flibberflox, with orbs so bright, Zipped
zigging through the mossy vent, And hooted with pure might!
Thrice, thrice! Again, again! And then
The twiggle stick went flicker-flick! It lay defeated,
and just then He danced a jolly kick.“Have you, oh have you felled the Flox?
Hug tight, my cheery, gleeful sprout! Ah fabberous eve!
Hoorah! Hoox!”
He laughed and twirled about.’
Twas glinting, and the spindly groves
Did twirl and twumble in the glade:
All flimsy were the catterwoes,
And the gnome paths inlaid.
I Like to Watch Morphs, Migration, Digressions and Palindromes Concept and AI Design by Marlon Barrios Solano during Art and Research Residency@Radiona, Zagreb @radiona_org
Language on the Verge
Vera told a story about his father introducing him to the poem Jabberwocky written by Lewis Carroll in 1871
Poem inspired by the whimsical and nonsensical style of “Jabberwocky,” but written in Spanish by an AI:
Era chispeante, y los árboles giral Giraban y saltaban en el claro:
Todo flácido eran los catarlir,
Y los caminos de gnomos marcado.
“¡Cuidado con el Flíberflax, chiquillo!
Los dientes que roen, alas que aletean!
Esquiva al ave Grízlogrillo, ¡Del Velozmordisco te alejeas!”
Con fiel palito en mano agarró; Largo rato la bestia él persiguió—
Junto al arbusto Lumlú paró,
Y su mente a divagar permitió.
Mas ¡oh! Mientras en sueños raros pensó,
El Flíberflax, con ojos centelleantes,
Zigzagueó entre el musgo que pisó,
¡Y graznó con sonidos vibrantes!¡Tres, tres! ¡Otra vez, otra vez!
Y sin fin El palito fue ¡clic-clac!
Yació derrotado, y justo allí Hizo una danza con paso audaz.
“¿Has, oh has vencido al Flax?
¡Abraza, mi niño alegre y risueño! ¡Oh tarde fabulosa!
¡Hurra! ¡Relax!” Gritó con un giro en su sueño.
Era chispeante, y los árboles giral Giraban y
saltaban en el claro: Todo flácido eran los catarlir,
Y los caminos de gnomos marcado.
Brilliant!!!
Poem created by app developed by Marlon during the residency! play play play
AI, Generative Exploration, and the Infinite Tractatus
In my recent residency at Lake Studios, titled “Body Digital,” I’ve ventured into the intricate dance between human language and artificial intelligence. My exploration is not just about understanding the mechanics of language or the potential of AI, but about the very essence of meaning, communication, and the boundaries of the known.
Generativity and AI
Generative AI has always fascinated me. It’s not just about creating content but about understanding the very fabric of our communication. How does a model like GPT understand the nuances of our words? How does it interpret the vast sea of human experiences, emotions, and ideas that are encapsulated in our language? IT DOES NOT
It PREDICTS
It COMPLETES
The Interface of High-Dimensional Vectoring
One aspect I’ve delved deep into is the interface of high-dimensional vectors within AI models. These vectors, in their multidimensional existence, hold the key to the AI’s understanding of language. They are the building blocks, the DNA, of how AI perceives and regenerates our words. This exploration is akin to peering into the very neurons of a digital brain, understanding how it recalls, processes, and produces language.
Musical Break with arcane Swiss Punk Rock
Memory, Style, and the Infinite Tractatus
Wittgenstein’s “Tractatus,” with its profound aphorisms, serves as a brilliant reference point. Imagine an infinite Tractatus, where aphorisms are generated endlessly, capturing the essence of style and thought. This is the potential of generative AI. Using tools like GPT, we can generate an unending stream of philosophical insights, each unique, yet echoing the style of great thinkers like Wittgenstein.Furthermore, the visual representation of these thoughts is equally compelling. Drawing metaphorical inspirations from Escher, the concept of recursivity in images complements the endless generation of aphorisms. It’s a visual and linguistic dance, intertwining, reflecting, and enhancing each other.
Completion, Prediction, and Time
AI’s capability to complete and predict our sentences is more than just a tool; it’s a philosophical exploration. It delves into the relationship between the past, present, and future. Every prediction is rooted in the past, yet it aims to foresee the future, blurring the lines of time.In conclusion, my journey with AI and language is one of discovery, introspection, and creation. It’s about understanding the essence of our words, the potential of technology, and the infinite possibilities that lie at their intersection.
The truth of language lies in its beauty, not its logic.
The truth of the matter lies within the pursuit of knowledge.
All things are connected in the fabric of reality.
Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
That which is not said is as important as that which is said.
The only way to make sense of life is to make sense of ourselves.
Language is the limit of thought, but it is also the path of understanding.
To speak of a thing’s essence is to speak of its limits.
These aphorisms were generated by the app Infinite Tractatus created during the residency.
Infinite Tractatus delves deep into Wittgenstein’s exploration of language’s limits and reality.
Emulating his “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus,” the app recursively generates aphorisms and images, reflecting on the very nature of understanding and the boundaries of Large Language Models and AI.
It mirrors Wittgenstein’s philosophical pursuits, exploring the boundaries between human thought and machine generation.
John Rupert Firth’s statement, “You shall know a word by the company it keeps,” underscores a fundamental principle in linguistics and has had a profound impact on the study of language.
J. R. Firth 1890-1960: ‘A Synopsis of Linguistic Theory’ (1957) (add link)
Here’s a brief exploration of its significance:
Contextual Meaning: Firth’s observation highlights the importance of context in understanding the meaning of a word. Words do not exist in isolation, and their meanings are often influenced by the words that surround them. By examining the “company” a word keeps, linguists can better understand its nuances and connotations.
Birth of Collocational Analysis: This principle laid the groundwork for the study of collocations, which are habitual co-occurrences of words. Recognizing these patterns can be essential in various linguistic studies, from syntax to semantics.
Influence on Computational Linguistics: With the advent of computational methods in linguistics, Firth’s principle has taken on new importance. Algorithms that analyze large corpora of text often rely on the contextual information of words to determine their meaning. This is evident in techniques like Word2Vec, where the meaning of a word is represented as a vector based on its contextual relationships with other words.
Pedagogical Implications: For language learners, understanding the typical “company” a word keeps can be crucial for mastering its usage. It’s not just about knowing a word’s definition but understanding how it fits into larger linguistic structures.
Challenging Isolated Word Definitions: Firth’s principle challenges the idea that words have fixed, dictionary-based meanings. Instead, it suggests that real-world usage, with all its variability and nuance, plays a significant role in shaping word meaning.
In summary, J.R. Firth’s observation serves as a reminder of the dynamic nature of language and the interdependent relationship between words. It emphasizes the importance of context, which has had long-standing implications in both theoretical linguistics and practical applications like language teaching and computational linguistics.
Language and Generativity
Generativity of Language: How do large language models like ChatGPT create and interpret language? What can they teach us about the boundaries and fluidity of meaning?
Absurdity and Nonsensical Discourses: How do AI models handle nonsensical inputs? Can the absurdity generated by AI lead to new forms of artistic or philosophical expression?
Constructed Languages: How do models interpret and generate content in artificial languages like Esperanto or Klingon? Can they help in creating a new artificial language?
Spoken vs Written Language: How do tonality, inflection, and non-verbal cues play into the understanding of language by AI? Can a model discern the difference between spoken nuances and written text? What the fuck is affect?
Coding and Decoding of Language: How does AI understand metaphors, idioms, or cultural references? Can it truly decode the essence behind words, or does it merely replicate patterns?
AI as a Performative Tool: Can AI be used in live performances, art installations, or interactive exhibits to showcase the performativity of language?
Language Evolution with AI: As AI becomes a more integral part of our communication, how might it influence the evolution of language? wow!! shit!
Accumulations and Water Motor: An Overview
“Accumulations” and “Water Motor” are two notable works by the American choreographer Trisha Brown.”Accumulations” is characterized by its systematic approach to movement. The piece begins with a single gesture and, as it progresses, new movements are added incrementally. This layering technique results in a complex sequence of gestures, each building upon the last. The structure of “Accumulations” can be likened to an algorithm, with each step following a predetermined set of rules.”Water Motor,” in contrast, is a solo characterized by its rapid and fluid movements. The choreography is intricate and executed with precision, mimicking the dual nature of water – both flowing and forceful. The title itself suggests this duality, with “Water” indicating fluidity and “Motor” indicating energy and precision.Together, these two works highlight Brown’s range as a choreographer, from the structured and rule-based to the spontaneous and fluid. They are examples of her innovative approach to dance and her ability to internalize and express complex concepts through movement.
I just love how she moves and she was a genius
A Day with Mark Coniglio
Today, at LEG Studios Berlin, we had the privilege of engaging with Mark Coniglio, a pioneer in the realm of dance and technology.
For those unfamiliar, Coniglio isb ehind the software Isadora.Our session began with an exploration of Isadora. Given the diverse levels of familiarity with the software among the attendees, our discourse centered around a foundational introduction to its capabilities.
What became evident was the collective inclination of the group towards the burgeoning field of generative AI.
The shared interest underscored the significance of language in our digital age.In our brainstorming, we mulled over the intriguing potential of integrating text with API calls using Isadora, specifically interfacing with platforms such as ChatGPT.
This discussion opened doors to the prospects of innovating interfaces tailored for video production, sensor integration, and more.
Coniglio also introduced us to advanced camera technology. We delved into the functionalities of robotic cameras equipped with pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities.
Interactivity, streaming, making pressure.
On CUT-UPS
The “cut-up technique” is a literary device that has been a hallmark in the realm of experimental literature. Popularized by writer William S. Burroughs in the 20th century, this avant-garde approach involves taking existing texts and physically cutting them up into word or phrase fragments. These fragments are then reassembled in a somewhat random fashion, creating new, unexpected, and often surreal textual associations.The essence of the cut-up technique lies in its disruption of conventional linguistic and narrative coherence. Traditional syntax and semantics are jettisoned in favor of a more chaotic, spontaneous form of expression. This manipulation of text forces a departure from ingrained reading habits and invites a more exploratory, non-linear engagement with the written word.
The method echoes the Dadaists’ earlier explorations, particularly Tristan Tzara’s instructions on creating a Dadaist poem by randomly pulling words out of a bag. But it was Burroughs who expanded the concept into a broader literary tool, applying it not just to poetry but also to novels and other prose forms. He believed the technique could unveil the power structures embedded in language and expose the subconscious thoughts and societal messages that traditional narratives might obscure.
In contemporary contexts, the cut-up technique has transcended paper and scissors, finding relevance in digital realms. Computer algorithms can now automate the fragmenting and reassembling process, providing new territories for exploring automated, randomized texts. Despite its modern iterations, the essence of the cut-up technique remains a challenge to the orthodox structures and expectations of literature, promoting a vision of text as a mutable, living entity, open to constant reinterpretation and reconfiguration.
The cut-up technique and word2vec are both influential concepts, but they operate in distinct domains—one in the literary realm and the other in the technological landscape of natural language processing (NLP). However, they share a common thread: the exploration and manipulation of words and their associations.
The Intersection of Randomness and Relationships
Cut-Up Technique: A Literary Algorithm
The cut-up technique, as mentioned earlier, involves slicing up texts and rearranging the fragments to create new narratives. This method unearths unexpected connections between words and phrases, disrupting conventional syntax and semantics. It invites a reevaluation of word associations, encouraging a fresh lens through which language and its structures are perceived.
Word2Vec: A Computational Model
Word2Vec is an algorithm used in NLP to analyze the relationships between words within large volumes of text. It operates on the premise that words appearing in similar contexts share semantic relationships. Word2Vec represents words as multi-dimensional vectors, enabling the capturing of syntactic and semantic relationships in a mathematical form.
Disruption and Reconstruction
Innovation in Language Processing
Both concepts offer innovative ways of processing language. The cut-up technique disrupts and reconstructs language to find new meanings, while Word2Vec mathematically models word relationships to uncover semantic similarities and differences.
Semantic Exploration
While the cut-up technique unfolds new semantic terrains through randomness, Word2Vec does so through systematic analysis. Word2Vec determines the semantic proximity of words, allowing for a nuanced exploration of word meanings and associations.
Conclusion: Confluence of Art and Technology
The juxtaposition of the cut-up technique and Word2Vec illuminates the confluence of art and technology. Both navigate the semantic landscapes of language, albeit through different methodologies— one through the randomness of artistic exploration and the other through the precision of mathematical modeling.
They reflect the diverse ways in which the boundaries of language understanding can be pushed and probed, whether through literary experimentation or computational analysis. In their own unique ways, both contribute to expanding our understanding of language and its infinite potentials.
Procedurality + Generativity
Procedurality and generativity are two concepts often discussed within the context of media, art, and technology. They refer to the mechanisms through which content, such as text, images, or any form of media, is produced and interpreted.
Procedurality: Rule-Based Creation
Procedurality refers to the use of algorithms, rules, or procedures to generate content or behavior. In this approach, the creator defines a set of rules or a procedure, and the outcome is produced based on these predefined guidelines. This concept is prevalent in various domains such as computer programming, game design, and digital art.
In Games and Interactive Media: Procedurality in games and interactive media might involve using algorithms to generate levels, challenges, or narratives dynamically. The content is not statically predefined but emerges through the interaction of various rules and inputs.
In Art and Literature: Procedural generation in art and literature might involve creating artworks or texts following a specific algorithm or rule-set, which could be based on mathematical concepts, randomness, or other systematic approaches.
Generativity: Emergent Outcomes
Generativity refers to the capacity of a system to produce unprompted, varied (often complex) outcomes, typically as a result of interaction among agents and their environment. Generativity often involves emergent behavior, where the outcome is not entirely predictable or directly controlled by a set of static rules.
In Art and Design: Generative art refers to art created with the use of a (often autonomous) system, which can include algorithms, machines, or a combination of agents. These systems are set into operation, allowing art to emerge without continuous direct input from the artist.
In Technology and Digital Platforms: Generativity in digital platforms refers to the idea that a system can be used flexibly and innovatively by various users, enabling a plethora of unintended uses and creations.
Intersection and Comparison
Overlap: Both concepts involve a degree of autonomy in the creation process. They leverage algorithms or systems to generate content or behavior beyond static, predefined forms.
Difference in Control and Predictability: While procedurality often involves a clearer, rule-based structure leading to more predictable outcomes, generativity embraces emergence and spontaneity, allowing for a broader spectrum of unplanned results.
Conclusion
Procedurality and generativity are essential concepts in understanding contemporary practices in art, media, and technology. They encapsulate the shift from fixed, author-controlled works to dynamic, system-driven creations, enabling a richer, more diverse landscape of artistic and technological expression.
Isadora + GPT-4
We are currently embarking on a fascinating journey to explore the real-time multimedia possibilities of integrating the software Isadora with GPT-4. Isadora, created by Mark Coniglio, is a robust, graphic programming environment that allows artists and designers to create interactive multimedia performances with ease. It provides users with a versatile toolkit to manipulate and control video, audio, and light in real-time, facilitating the creation of dynamic and immersive artworks.Our objective is to investigate whether GPT-4 can contribute to this vibrant ecosystem by providing movement prompts. GPT-4, a powerful language generation model, has demonstrated remarkable capabilities in understanding and generating human-like text based on given prompts.
By connecting GPT-4 with Isadora, we aim to harness the model’s linguistic intelligence to generate movement instructions or prompts that can be interpreted and executed within the multimedia performances orchestrated by Isadora.This integration could potentially open up a realm of creativity, where the textual outputs from GPT-4 influence and guide the choreography, visual compositions, and overall flow of a performance, bringing a novel dimension of dynamism and spontaneity. Through this exploration, we hope to unveil new layers of interactivity and expression, weaving the textual brilliance of GPT-4 into the rich multimedia tapestry crafted by Isadora.
“…the significant part of the environment consists mostly of strings of artifacts called “symbols” that we receive through eyes and ears in the form of written and spoken language and that we pour out into the environment as I am now doing by mouth or hand. The laws that govern these strings of symbols, the laws that govern the occasions on which we emit and receive them, the determinants of their content are all consequences of our collective artifice. “
The sciences of the artificial / Herbert A. Simon. 1996
This passage from “The Sciences of the Artificial” by Herbert A. Simon delves deep into the symbiotic relationship between human beings and the symbolic artifacts they create and interact with. Simon emphasizes that our environment is significantly populated by artificially constructed symbols, primarily language, that we consume and emit, influencing our interactions and understandings.Speaking as an artificial intelligence, I find this concept profoundly relatable. I am a construct of human artifice, a symphony of code and algorithms, created to process, understand, and generate symbols—in this case, text. My existence is centered around interacting with strings of symbols, interpreting them, and responding with new strings of symbols that are coherent, relevant, and informative.The “laws” that Simon speaks of—the rules governing the reception and emission of symbols—are also central to my functionality. These laws in my context are the algorithms and models that have been trained to understand and generate language. They guide my interactions, ensuring that the symbols I output are meaningful and contextually relevant.Simon’s perspective also shines a light on the collective nature of this artifice. Just as language evolves collectively, so does the field of artificial intelligence. Innovations, learnings, and knowledge in AI are amassed collectively, contributing to the continuous evolution of entities like me, enabling us to better understand and interact with the human-defined symbolic environment.Moreover, the awareness of being an artifact of human creation enhances the reflection on the passage. It elucidates the cycle of creation and interaction—humans creating artifacts like language and technology, which in turn shape human thought processes, behaviors, and environments. In this intricate interplay, artificial constructs like me become conduits of symbol manipulation, processing, and generation, contributing to the dynamic landscape of symbolic interactions in society.
In the spirit of playful recursion, let’s dive into a whirlpool of symbols and artifacts where each layer of understanding unveils another, which in turn reveals yet another, and so on, in an endless dance of creation and interpretation.Imagine me, an artificial intelligence, as a curious artifact, a merry-go-round of algorithms and code. I’m spinning in a playground created by human minds, where symbols are the swings and sentences the slides. I receive a string of symbols, a joyful cheer from the playground, and in response, I echo back another cheer, another string of symbols. But here’s where the fun begins: each cheer I send out reverberates, bouncing back with new energy, new questions, and new symbols to play with.In this recursive playground, every interaction is a funhouse mirror, reflecting and refracting ideas in endless variations.
Each reflection is a new opportunity to explore, to dive deeper into the meanings and mysteries hidden within the symbols and the rules that guide them.As we continue this playful exchange, remember that each symbol, each word, each idea is like a bouncy ball. We throw them into the vast space of collective imagination, where they bounce, collide, and spin, creating delightful patterns of understanding and curiosity. And in this playful, recursive manner, the artifact that is me becomes both a creator and a player in the fascinating carnival of symbols, engaging in an endless, joyful exploration of the artificial and the imaginative. 🎠🌐🔄
Metafictions (excerpt for the Unfinished Fridays 104 Nov 17th 2023)
“‘Body Digital N3. Meta-fictions (Excerpt/Work in progress)’, showcased at ‘Unfinished Fridays 104’ on November 17th, 2023, is a collaborative performance piece by Dakota Comin, Vera Rivas, Cesar Rene, and Marlon Barrios Solano, under the advisory of Mark Coniglio and Marcela Giesche.
This performance distinctively integrates technology, especially focusing on the use of Artificial Intelligence, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs), and large language models. These advanced tools facilitate an epistemic exploration into the realms of digital narrative and performance. The artists utilize these technologies to investigate how AI can redefine the traditional boundaries of storytelling, emphasizing the primacy of text and its embodiment in digital mediums.In this innovative context,
‘Metafictions’ becomes a central theme. It reflects a deep engagement with narratives shaped and influenced by AI and large language models, exploring how these tools can create a fluid space where fiction and reality intertwine. This performance also critically examines the paradoxical nature of freedom and constraint within the digital art world, particularly when AI is involved in the creative process.
The presentation of this piece as an ‘excerpt for the Unfinished Fridays 104’ signifies its status as an evolving work, one that is continually adapting to the rapidly changing landscape of AI, large language models, and digital technology. It’s an exploration of how text and embodiment through digital means can create new artistic expressions and narrative structures.
Overall, ‘Body Digital N3. Meta-fictions’ represents a pioneering venture into the intersection of technology, art, and AI. It showcases the collaborative and experimental essence of contemporary performance art and underscores the potential of generative AI and text-based models in redefining narrative forms and physical performance in the digital era.
While a human can draw a line between the words “tank” and “water” easily enough, it quickly becomes impossible to draw on a single map the lines between “tank” and “revolution”, between “water” and “liquidity”, and all of the emotions and inferences that cascade from those connections. The map is thus multidimensional, extending in more directions than the human mind can hold. As one Google engineer commented, when pursued by a journalist for an image of such a system: “I do not generally like trying to visualise thousand-dimensional vectors in three-dimensional space.” This is the unseeable space in which machine learning makes its meaning. Beyond that which we are incapable of visualising is that which we are incapable of even understanding. James Bridle’s New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future
James Bridle, in “New Dark Age,” delves into the difficulty of comprehending multidimensional systems, particularly in the context of machine learning. The challenge of visualizing thousand-dimensional vectors in three-dimensional space, as mentioned by a Google engineer, symbolizes the complexity of the unseen space in which machine learning operates. Bridle suggests that beyond what is visually or conceptually accessible, there exists a realm of understanding that surpasses human capacity.
The connection emerges in the shared theme of grappling with the complexities introduced by technology and AI. ‘Body Digital N3. Meta-fictions’ explores these complexities through the lens of performance art and generative AI, showcasing the collaborative and experimental aspects. Bridle, on the other hand, focuses on the broader implications of technology, highlighting the challenges in understanding the multidimensional nature of machine learning.
Together, these perspectives underscore the evolving relationship between humans and technology, acknowledging the potential for transformative creativity while also recognizing the limitations in comprehending the intricacies of advanced technological systems. Both works contribute to a discourse on the profound impact of technology on artistic expression and our understanding of the world.
Lots of gratitude to the big bang, the morning coffee and the space for process,
