To the Last Realm of Humanity

In the chapter “1999” Kurzweil explored technology development on the art aspect of human lives –music, fiction, poetry and painting. Though many works generated by the computer seemed “crude,” it nevertheless triggers thoughts and emotions, and which may on the other hand accredit the artificial arts crafted by computer programs as valid and valuable. Though in the past decade to develop computers as artists has not been explored as enthusiastically as the author expected, from the works shown in the book, I could almost be certain that computers can well serve as the producer in the “culture industry” (in Adorno’s notion) because it grasps the essence of popular culture –to mock and remake based on previous popular work.

Harold Cohen's Aaron painting an artwork

In Kurzweil’s website, you can find his explanation of Ray Kurzweil’s Cybernetic Poet (RKCP), and I am somehow amused by how RKCP is programmed to avoid plagiarism a “plagiarism avoidance algorithm” that will ensure there is no more than 3 words appears in the same order as the original lines in the computer generated work.

But at the same time it makes me feel uncomfortable and thus reflect upon why human beings create and appreciate art. In my opinion it is because they are out of genius emotions and thoughts, not because they are profitable or “appreciatable”. The computer generated works, however, stray away from this and become the “machine” producing arts for the sake of producing arts. It's interesting and experimental, but I certainly don’t expect such work to become a source of profits or capitalization (but in another sense, isn’t today’s pop music, shows or fictions got produced the same way? Are we for real have lost our last realm of humanity?? ).

Aaron, with Decorative Panel, 1992. Oil on canvas, 72x54 inches. Photograph by Becky Cohen.

The video is the trailer of a documentary about Ray Kurzweil. His recent increased publicity may be an interesting phenomenon that is somehow adjusting the direction where technology will lead us to.