Art, Artifice & Intelligence: A UK-Japan partnership exploring art and AI

Technologies of artificial intelligence are an increasing part of our everyday lives. Neural networks and deep learning find application in vast areas such as the financial markets and weather prediction. We are told that many traditional kinds of jobs may be in danger of being replaced by automation. Artificial intelligence can emulate human decision making, and software programmes can now beat chess masters. AI research in the UK and Japan are at the forefront of international advancement in the field. Programmes by London companies like DeepMind take the chess example to the next level of complexity by playing the ancient Japanese game of Go. In Japan, advanced robots that take on humanoid form have been deployed in healthcare settings such as minding older people.

While AI and automation might better human chess players or risk to replace jobs, they can be seen as a partner in dialogue with human activity. This is seen in a compelling way in the world of art. While computer programmes have been created to generate visual images and algorithmically compose music, it is in partnership with a human artist that new forms of art can emerge. If an AI algorithm becomes part of the creative palette of an artist, what kinds of new work emerge? For an artist to be able to harness these advanced technologies, how do they need to be configured? Is the human artist a partner, master, or mere operator? How do these new techniques change our aesthetic sense and challenge what might constitute a work of art or piece of music?

The Art, Artifice & Intelligence project brings together leading research labs from the UK and Japan to foster new partnerships to explore the creative potential of artificial intelligence in art and music. The Embodied Audiovisual Interaction (EAVI) unit from Goldsmiths, University of London, will lead the project in partnership with the SACRAL artificial life laboratory of the University of Tokyo and the Faculty of Design at Kyushu University. The project will facilitate exchange of academics, young researchers, and students between the UK and Japan to share knowledge and best practices in harnessing AI technologies in creative settings. The project activities will take place in a series of workshops - two in Japan and one in London - and in a 3-month residency for a young UK researcher to develop a new project in Japan. The results of the project will be presented to general audiences in public exhibition/performance events in London, and in Japan. We will work with cultural institutions such as the Barbican in London and the Yamaguchi Center for Art & Media (YCAM). The project will be a trigger for future large scale collaborations in art and AI between the UK and Japan, and bring to the public eye the rich histories, technologies, and critical perspectives that underpin our present-day fascination with artificial intelligence.

The project results will have wide ranging impact on the creative sector and the general public. It will first be of interest to artists, musicians, and designers whose creative palettes mifght be extended by the AI technologies demonstrated in the project. Members of the popular press will have historical, technological, and cultural context to inform their reporting. Amongst the general public, the project will be of interest to young, technology savvy professionals who are at ease with the technologies of a digital society and who may work in the technology sector. For them to apprehend the artistic possibilities of AI will be of keen interest. Finally, to an art-going public interested in new forms of cultural production will gain access to information on the ways AI technologies become creative tools. This impact will be realised by working with cultural sector actors like YCAM and the Barbican.