Robotics and Art


            As science progresses forward more and more rapidly, robotics is becoming increasingly ingrained across many aspects of our lives. Therefore, it is unsurprising that robots have developed into another medium for art. This idea is woven into the premise of the television show, Westworld.

Westworld Opening Theme
The directors ponder the idea of a amusement park inhabited by cyborgs called “hosts” in a old western setting of cowboys, saloons, and other staples of the era. The hosts define this experience. The physical aesthetic of each host, as with any art, is paid very much attention, with hundreds of artists being involved in crafting realistic, unique, and sometimes beautiful hosts. Like their bodies, the hosts’ minds and memories are also crafted painstakingly to give guests at the park a genuine and thrilling experience. Alan Turing defined the famous Turing Test which defines the criterion for thinking. Like Harrison Ford’s character does in Blade Runner, the human creators of these cyborgs not only must be incredibly scientific in their approaches but also incredibly artistic in order to have their creations pass the Turing Test.

The Turing Test


            The future of the development of lifelike robots will be defined by the intense collaboration of artists and scientists. Just as video is a more immersive form of art than two dimensional art, the creation of human like robots and entire experience like that enjoyed by the guests in Westworld, will be one step more immersive than video. Walter Benjamin compares the differences between a painter and a cameraman noting the different strategies employed by each. The artist that designs the features of the robot will have to consider all aspects of the robot’s interaction with the human in order to evoke the specific emotional response they are seeking. What is also interesting is that these personalities that the artists create will be completely digital and able to be replicated relatively easily. The repercussions of that is the ability to take what a human sees as an “analog” interaction with a person/robot and perfectly replicate it in a robot just as the printing press allowed for the replication of art and texts. The possibilities in the field seem endless, and they are only executable through the combination of art and science.

Ex Machina Robot choosing aesthetic features

References

Copeland, B. J. “Alan Turing.” Encycolpedia Brittanica, 14 Feb. 2014.

Vesna, Victoria. “Lectures Part 1.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012.

Scott, Ridley, et al. Blade Runner. Warner Bros., 1992.

Crichton, Michael. Westworld. HBO, 23 Apr. 2018, www.hbo.com/westworld.

Benjamin, Walter (1969 [1936]). "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Illuminations. Ed. H. Arendt. New York, Schocken. 217–251.

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381–386. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1576221.



           

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 23, 2018 at 10:11 PM

    The Westworld opening video definitely points out the main idea for this week's topic. It clearly shows the relationship between Robotics and Art. I strongly agree on the point you made about the collaboration of scientist and artist and the future lifelike Robots. After watching this week's lecture and reading your blog, I realized that they compliments each other in a way of creating a developed future and uprising new things. All in all, I really enjoy reading your blog, especially the relatable example given on a tv show.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tanner BurnetteApril 24, 2018 at 2:32 PM

    Stephen, I find your comments on robotics to be very interesting and insightful. This must have been a good assignment for you, as you have a lot of first hand experience to draw on, given your extensive background in robotics. The Westworld analogy was a great tie in to this topic as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 25, 2018 at 11:04 PM

    Hello Stephen, I like the West World show a lot! I think it is a great example to use to illustrate the relationship between art and robotics. I think the idea that Turing test can help to prevent robotics betraying human being is false though. If the AI is smart enough I doubt if such test will be useful. I watched Ex Machina as well and I found the film's ending could be the ideal outcome when the AI is smart enough. Overall your blog is very inspiring and I think robotics and mankind are shaping each other after this week's study and reading your blog. Feel free to read my blog if you want:)

    ReplyDelete

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