Page 26 - Studio-International-January-1974

participation beyond changing the paper and to the nature of the criteria towards the structure will change in ways which are
refilling and changing pans.6 (Fig. 13.) satisfaction of which the machine might aim. presently undefinable.
What I have described as being controlled by Art is not a deterministic game like checkers, to The step by step account of the computer's
the executive is, in a very general sense, the be won or lost by the `player'; and though we functions and its programmes was intended, of
purpose-formulating mechanism for the acknowledge, empirically, that some artists are course, to try to demonstrate that the machine
`freehand' line generator, the structure that `better' than others, that some artists do can be used in this way. The original question -
determines where the lines are to be drawn. You improve, the problem of formulating general whether the machine can serve the artist's
might say that / am the purpose-formulating criteria for improvement may be no different in Purpose - is more redundant than
mechanism for the programme as a whole, but relation to the machine than it is for the teacher unanswerable, and is in any case not to be
the executive programme makes my own part in in relation to the art student. It is probably confused with asking whether artists might see a
the process rather more remote, if no less reasonable to assume that there do exist criteria need to use it. It is characteristic of our culture
significant. In fact, I doubt whether the main at levels even more remote from the work than both that we search out things to satisfy current
programme will be changed much at this point, any I mentioned: in which case we should be needs, and also that we restate our needs in
since what is at stake for me is not what it does, able to formulate them and the machine should terms of the new things we have found. Nor is it
but what determines what it does. I am be able to satisfy them. But there remains the necessarily immediately clear what wide
referring to the 'preferences' mentioned earlier. suspicion that satisfactory performance in cultural needs those things might eventually
As it reaches each destination, the machine art is not to be measured solely by the serve. The notion of universal literacy did not
has to choose between anything up to twenty- satisfaction of explicit criteria, and would follow immediately upon the development of
five next destinations, depending upon the state still not be so no matter how far back one moveable type, but it did follow that
of the drawing. In the present state of the pushed. development, not demand it. Up to this point
programme, its preference is for destinations As to those explicit criteria: there would seem the computer has existed for the artist only as a
within certain distance limits, but it is easy to little reason to deny that the machine behaves somewhat frightening, but essentially trivial toy.
see how it might 'prefer' long lines to short ones, purposefully at every level described. Yet no When it becomes clear to him that the computer
a destination near the centre of the picture, or in level defines its own purpose. The learning level is, in fact, an abstract machine of great power, a
highly active parts of the picture : or it might would - but for the difficulties mentioned above general purpose tool capable of delimiting his
`prefer' the one involving minimum change of - advise the preference-structure as to the best mind as other machines delimit him
direction; or the reverse of any of these. way of defining the manner in which the physically, then its use will be inevitable. q
Obviously the character of the resultant executive commands the main programme to
(Photos for this article by Becky Cohen.)
drawings would vary enormously as the select the points between which the 'freehand'
machine exercised one 'preference' rather than line generator is to draw lines. One might say
another, but in fact I am suggesting something even that the purpose of each level is to I wish I had more space here to develop and justify
more complex than simply switching formulate the purpose for the next level. It is what may seem to be extravagant views. Readers
wishing to pursue the issue for themselves will find
`preferences'. Suppose, rather, that the machine true, of course, that the machine's organization these views to be almost timid compared to the
exercises its whole range of 'preferences' by is that way because it has been set up that way, current rate of growth and technological development
scoring each possible destination for its ability but in considering the nature of explicit within the industry. There is extravagance indeed!
Of an estimated 80,00o computers now operating in
to satisfy each preference, and taking the criteria in human art-making behaviour we the US alone, 13,000 were installed in 1972 by a
destination with the highest total score as its might reasonably adopt the machine's single manufacturer. Spending on small computers is
choice. It might then choose the destination organization as a model, and say that these projected by a leading magazine to rise to
which was relatively far away, didn't involve too criteria relate to the formulation of new levels S600,000,000 a year in the US by 1975.
2 But not necessarily for other times and other
much deviation from the current direction, and of purpose in satisfaction of prior purposes. This cultures.
was in an area of high activity quite close to the can be maintained without any suggestion that 3 Recursion is a powerful mathematical concept which
centre of the drawing. I think this would be a the machine can move higher and higher up the is difficult to describe in non-mathematical terms :
indeed, the above examples are as good as any I have
much closer simulation of the way in which ladder until it is finally in possession of the been able to find. If you think of a mathematical
human preference-structures are exercised. artist's Purpose. On the contrary, it seems to function as being a structure which operates upon
Let us go one step further, and suppose the me that pushing back along the chain of something provided to it, then a recursive function is
one which provides itself with the 'something' by its
machine to be capable of weighting its scores command - either for the machine or for oneself previous operation. Since the 'something' will be
for its different 'preferences', and of modifying - is less like climbing a ladder than it is like different for each operation, this is not to be confused
these weightings itself. This possibility is by no trying to find the largest number between zero with circular structures : e.g. art is something
produced by an artist, an artist is someone who makes
means speculative: readers familiar with the and one : there is always another midway art. Also, the idea of the boy holding the bag of
development of the field of Artificial between the present position and the popcorn on which there is a picture of the boy
Intelligence will recognize its similarity to `destination'. holding the bag of popcorn on which . . . actually
represents a hierarchical structure rather than a
Samuel's now classic programme for a It should be evident, then, that I do not recursive one.
checkers-playing machine (1959). They will consider 'serving the artist's Purpose' to be 4 I am not making this up. See 'Idols of Computer
recall also that the programme enabled the equivalent to 'talking over the artist's Purpose', Art' by Robert E. Meuller, Art In America, May,
1972: and my own reply in 'Commentary' in the
machine to learn to play, by having it play or identify the machine with the artist. I following issue.
against itself, one part always adopting the best identify the artist with the whole Purpose- Under grant number A72-1-288 from the National
strategy found to date, the other varying the structure, the machine with the processes which Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC I am
currently investigating the feasibility of setting up a
weightings of the 'preferences' which are defined by the structure and in turn help to Centre for Advanced Computing in the Arts. One
determined that strategy until it found a better redefine it. Since under other circumstances might speculate that, among other things, such a
centre might enable artists to use the machine for
one, and so on. In a short time it was able to win these processes too would be played out by the their own purposes, rather than presenting them with
consistently against any human player. artist, I am also identifying playing-out with the a cookery book of possibilities.
We might recognize a significant difference computer with playing-out without the "Machine Generated Images', La Jolla Museum,
between applying a learning programme of this computer. For the machine to serve his Purpose California. October-November 1972. The drawings
reproduced here are taken from the show. The
sort to successful game playing and doing so to the artist will need to use it as he uses himself. machine was able to make drawings in several colours,
successful art-making. Of course the There is no reason to anticipate that the use but the museum staff had some difficulty in following
difficulty is ours, not the machine's: since will be more or less trivial than the use he makes its instructions for mounting the appropriate pens. In
the event, it was limited to asking for the correct size
we ourselves would be in some doubt as of himself, but every reason to suppose that the pen to be mounted.
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