{"id":13419,"date":"2022-08-29T20:06:37","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T20:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/art\/refik-anadol-on-how-ai-imagination-elevates-memory-with-nfts\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T20:06:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T20:06:39","slug":"refik-anadol-on-how-ai-imagination-elevates-memory-with-nfts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/art\/refik-anadol-on-how-ai-imagination-elevates-memory-with-nfts\/","title":{"rendered":"Refik Anadol on How AI ‘Imagination’ Elevates Memory With NFTs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On June 25, 1949, the British neurologist Geoffrey Jefferson gave a lecture to the Royal College of Surgeons of England entitled The Mind of Mechanical Man<\/em>. It may be surprising that machine intelligence was the subject of much debate in Jefferson\u2019s time, with some describing the 1904s as the period in which artificial intelligence was born following the development of cybernetics. Jefferson\u2019s ideas about the intersection of human and machine were ahead of their time and even impressed the great Alan Turing with their prescience and clarity.<\/p>\n

\u201c[N]ot until a machine can write a sonnet or a concerto because of thoughts and emotions felt, and not by the chance fall of symbols, could we agree that machine equals brain \u2014 that is, not only write it but know that it had written it,\u201d Jefferson said in his lecture. \u201cNo mechanism could feel (and not merely artificially signal, an easy contrivance) pleasure at its successes, grief when its valves fuse, be warmed by flattery, be made miserable by its mistakes, be charmed by sex, be angry or miserable when it cannot get what it wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question of artificial intelligence<\/h2>\n

Whether they know it or not, critics of artificial intelligence\u2019s application in the art world \u2014 and by extension, the world of NFTs \u2014 employ a version of Jefferson\u2019s argument when they decry that the technology takes something away from the creative \u201csoul\u201d of artists and their work.<\/p>\n

But one look at recent computing advances, and it seems like the train has left the station. Millions of people are already learning how to make AI art. Thanks to prompt-based programs like MidJourney, DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion that turn text into images, creating art in tandem with AI has become commonplace. Developers are leaning heavily on the technology to help build out their NFT project visions. Companies are even working to give NFTs AI brains.<\/p>\n

Of course, this could be assuming the consequent: Simply increasing the computational and adaptive powers of computing systems and calling it AI might not necessarily mean that these systems experience the drive to curiosity and sense of internal self-awareness that humans experience. Then again, the internal experience of consciousness and ego could also be an illusion. But to modern AI developers, thinking of humans as a special case might be outdated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn every chapter of humanity, endeavors and innovations and discoveries always light up some dinosaur views,\u201d retorted Refik Anadol, the pioneering visual artist whose work sits at the intersection of digital media and machine learning, in an interview with nft now. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s very normal. But to me, there\u2019s an artist; there\u2019s a desire. There\u2019s a prompt; there\u2019s a request; there is an input. I think this is pure collaboration \u2014 imagination with a machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anadol is well-known in the NFT space and beyond for his immersive (and often interactive) AI-infused pieces, including Melting Memories, a project inspired by his uncle\u2019s Alzheimer\u2019s diagnosis, An Important Memory for Humanity, which dropped in April of this year, and Unsupervised \u2014 Machine Hallucinations, which trained an AI model on the metadata of the Museum of Modern Art\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n

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Three images from Unsupervised, via Refik Anadol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The idea of embedding media arts into architecture through data and computation has long driven Anadol\u2019s approach to his work. But his love for computers came even earlier when his parents brought home a Commodore 64 for his eighth birthday, which enabled him to dive into the world of video games. Later that year, Anadol saw Blade Runner<\/em> for the first time, which changed how he would imagine the future of humanity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a child, I didn\u2019t strive to see the optimism in life,\u201d Anadol said. \u201cI found much more optimism in [that] movie. I think that\u2019s how I started to connect imagination and computation in my mind. Because to me, games were where we could escape or find new meaning, like creating a new world around a machine\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anadol went on to study Visual Communication Design at Istanbul Bilgi University, where he encountered a professor from Aalto University in Finland who taught Anadol how to start doing visual programming with a software called Pure Data. The programming language allows for interaction with algorithms and proximity sensors like microphones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cData is still the pigment \u2014 But now, the brush can think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Refik anadol<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when I saw, for the very first time, the potential of programming invisible signals of data,\u201d Anadol recalled. \u201cIt was a beautiful signal transforming into black and white points and dots and lines. And that\u2019s how I got this idea of [thinking of] data as a pigment, and that algorithms can become our brush.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Anadol left Turkey to go to the States, he created a data sculpture media wall in Istanbul in collaboration with the architect Alper Derinbo\u011faz, who had recently returned to Turkey after finishing a graduate degree at UCLA. Derinbo\u011faz\u2019s mentor, the famous Greg Lynn, inspired Anadol with Animate Form,<\/em> a book in which Lynn argues that the future of architecture is not static.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was inspired by data as a material,\u201d Anadol explained.<\/p>\n

Anadol then went to study at UCLA, choosing the university because it housed professors like Casey Reas. Reas is well-known for creating Processing, an open-source creative coding community that enabled Anadol to learn Javascript for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a true hero and true pioneer in the field,\u201d Anadol said. \u201cHe opened my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data as an expression of humanity<\/h2>\n

Anadol believes that data is a form of memory and that this memory can have many different shapes, colors, and textures. The main objective Anadol has in his artistic practice is to make art for anyone of any age or background.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis idea of finding the language of humanity is a very challenging practice,\u201d Anadol elaborated. \u201cArchives are the memories of humanity. They have this cultural and historical context. That\u2019s why I focus on urban spaces in my work, specifically looking for patterns of memories that belong to everyone. I look at these memories of humanity and how they can merge with the powerful creativity of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

When discussing common fears that AI might replace the vital force of human creativity, Anadol casually dismissed them, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the technology.<\/p>\n

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Machine Hallucinations, via Refik Anadol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve found that [AI] is an extension of my consciousness. It\u2019s an extension of my imagination,\u201d he said, \u201cI see AI becoming this extension of the human mind. When I did Wind of Boston, I was [telling people that] the data is here becoming pigments and the algorithm can become a kind of a brush. Data is still the pigment \u2014 but now, the brush can think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anadol generally agrees with artists like Claire Silver, who believe that because AI enables those who aren\u2019t talented in drawing or painting to create art, skill and talent will slowly take a backseat to concept and vision. And while he doesn\u2019t find programs like DALL-E 2 and MidJourney to be particularly groundbreaking in the nature of their algorithms, the egalitarian approach to creating AI art that these systems provide inspires him greatly.<\/p>\n

Anadol\u2019s coming projects are unsurprisingly ambitious. He\u2019s released some tantalizing images on his Twitter account<\/a> lately that hint at what fans of his art can expect, and told nft now that this next release will be an iteration of his DATALAND series.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBasically, we are also exploring Stable Diffusion in a very custom way,\u201d Anadol teased. \u201cSix months ago, I was using DALL-E 2, and it was a massive trigger for my imagination. And for six months, I\u2019ve been prompt engineering many concepts. DATALAND is completely designed by machine-assisted imagination. It will be a breakthrough in our journey as a studio, but also for the Web3 community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anadol plans to continue using AI to create art while expanding its use cases in the context of Web3. And it\u2019s having a galvanizing effect. Needless to say, his passion for the future of the space \u2014 and all of the tools at his disposal to potentially revolutionize it \u2014 is contagious.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a person inspired by innovation and discovery every single moment of my life, I can say that this is one of the most ambitious and truly culturally Web3 projects,\u201d Anadol said. \u201cIt is not something we are used to [seeing] in the space. It\u2019s more than an NFT collection \u2014 it\u2019s an experience in life first.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n