eMusings
Your eyes and ears on the worlds of art, culture, technology, philosophy - whatever stimulates the mind and excites the imagination. We remind you that 20 years of
back issues of eMusings can be found on our archives page.
Continuing our coverage of some of the more interesting AI news:
Meet Tilly Talbot, described as "the world's first AI designer" (do take these hyperboles with a dash of caution). Tilly was introduced
at Milan Design week on a large screen as a female digital image. It/She was created by Amanda Talbot, founder of Studio Snoop. Five products designed by Tilly and humans were shown as part of a collection based on
Bauhaus principles. Tilly's input included suggesting alternative materials for use in each project.
IBM will collaborate with the All England Club to create AI commentary on its reporting of
Wimbledon this year. IBM's watsonx AI platform was used to train the algorithm in the "unique language of tennis". Over 10 years ago, IBM's watson played and won a game of the American TV show Jeopardy.
A new AI system called AtMan has been developed to illuminate how large language models reach their decisions, revealing
which queries led to the responses. The new system is designed to uncover not only what an AI algorithm does, but why it has reached its conclusion.
Google has produced a new video explaining why the company finds the new GPT-5 an "EXTREME RISK".
An article on SLASHDOT asks what happens when AI algorithms start basing their decisions
on other AI algorithms rather than on human-generated content.
As of this writing, the European Union is getting close to passing a set of laws governing AI. The
proposed global standards will include a ban on police using facial recognition in public areas. Also under consideration are automated medical diagnoses, bots like ChatGPT, and deepfakes (AI-generated videos).
Yann LeCun, chief scientist at Meta's AI Lab, is working on a new way to teach machines how the world
works. Previously he had tried to give machines a kind of common sense by showing neural networks video clips of everyday occurrences. This method asked AI to predict what would happen next. Now he is thinking of
emphasizing only those items necessary for the required task and later adding details that are necessary. He admits that he doesn't know how to build what he is proposing.
Researchers are working on a new AI model
that can realistically put specific humans into different scenarios.
Take a look at the new AI world of movie-making. The film is called "The Frost". a 12-minute movie
in which every scene is generated by an image-making AI. Stephen Parker at Waymark, the company that made the film. reveals that they had to stop looking for photographic accuracy and instead let the algorithm follow
itw own weirdness.
Of all the medical specialties, cardiology seems to have adapted AI most frequently.
At present there are over 520 AI algorithms that have been accepted by the FDA, but the question being asked is, what happens if something goes amiss, and who is responsible?
Now on to other July treats:
The Fibonacci sequence, spiral patterns that appear in plants,
has fascinated thinkers from Leonardo to Darwin. A new study refutes the idea that this patterning arose in ancient plant forms. The researchers analyzed a fossilized plant from 407 million years ago and found that
it did not evidence the spiral formations. In a Fibonacci code, each number is the sum of the 2 numbers that came right before it - ie, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc. Furthermore the sequence occurs in both clockwise
and anticlockwise spirals. If you count the number of spirals in either direction, they fulfill the sequence as well. When scientists studied an extinct species called Asteroxylon mackiei, housed in several
museums, they discovered that non-Fibonacci spirals were the rule.
Artist Ching-ke Lin built a logo for New Balance footwear by using
4000 pieces of bamboo copters and 900 semi-transparent strips. Copters are among the favorite toys of Taiwanese children. Statistical descriptions aside, the logo becomes a fascinating piece of sculpture.
Quilts and tapestries have come to the foreground in today's art world, Take a look at the work of Moki Cherry,
Swedish interdisciplinary artist, who described her aesthetic as "home as stage, stage as home". Cherry was proud of working while parenting, and hoped to engage others in the dual process.
I have previously directed you to the magnificent wall weavings of
Olga de Amaral. The artist speaks of working with the "intuitions of the moment", without prior conceptualization, a process which mirrors my own. This creative immediacy is combined with painstaking hours
of craftsmanship. In a career spanning 7 decades she has woven exquisite tapestries, frequently interweaving golden threads. I first saw them at the Bellas
Artes
gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their impact is extraordinary.
Japan plans to erect a self-sufficient floating city designed to accommoldate 40,000 people. Named Dogen City,
it would include medical facilities, tourist attractions and space rockets. The city would cover almost 2.5 miles in circumference and would house roughly 10,000 permanent residents. It is planned
to withstand severe weather, including tsunamis.
Kenny Scharf's first solo exhibition of new works in 30 years is taking place
at 2 venues in Japan. Using his familiar bright colors and distinctive forms, Scharf makes creatures that resemble alien characters and plant distortions, which he describes as metaphors for his friends and
himself. You may remember his 2019 exhibition in New York.
Join me on a fascinating visual journey
to Birbhum in West Bengal, India, to see the work of a master papermaker. Barun Chatterjee, who holds a Ph.D. degree in Bangali literature, grows his own raw materials like banana plants, sugar cane, and
mulberry. These materials are harvested, processed, and formed by hand into paper. He also works with papyrus plants donated to him by an NGO in Egypt. A lover and collector of books, Chatterjee traveled to
Israel, where he learned that the best restoration technique required a special kind of handmade paper found in Japan, a paper that is nearly transparent, acid-free. and strong. Returning to Japan, he worked with a
farming expert. We learn that the best paper depends on the length of the fibers, the longer the better. (thenks to SD for this).
Pace Gallery in Seoul, Korea, presents the paintings and works on paper of Alejandro Pineiro Bello. The
Cuban artist is showing "Spiral Journey", based on his understanding of Caribbean history and culture. The swirling, dynamic motions in Bello's pieces add a sense of mysticism and otherworldliness to these beautiful works.
Artist Pacita Abad is known for her trapuntos, a form of quilt-making created by stitching and stuffing her canvases rather than
stretching them over a wood frame. Her imposing and dynamic works arose from years of traveling and observing the oppressions of people under repressive regimes worldwide.
Beatriz Milhazes brings us her colorful and joyful abstractions. A significant figure in the Brazilian art movement
Geracao Oitenta (1980's Generation), Mikhazes focuses on our relationship to the environment with works of high energy and vibrant expression.
It appears that a fascination with the ghoulish and conditions in Hell have gripped
mankind for centuries. An example cited here is "Garden of Earthly Delight", a triptych created in 1490 by Hieronymus Bosch hanging in the Prado in Madrid. Additional artists mentioned are Charles Dickens and Dante. The article
comments: "Evidence emerged of hells constructed for people whose crime was to be ‘other’ – religiously, racially or sexually alien."
The United Arab Emirates has unveiled proposals for ten new architectural projects. See
especially the Zayed National Museum, the Phenomena Abu Dubai Experimental Center, and the Dubai Vertiport Terminal.
c. Corinne Whitaker 2023
