Week 3 | Robotics + Art

In light of this week's guest speaker and resources, one significant aspect about robots that I want to dive deeper is the concept of humanoid robots. The desire for a human to essentially build another human is a topic that I think really pushes the boundary of what is considered art. Much like how the invention of film permeated the painting world, I think the invention of humanoid robots would infiltrate the world of sculptures.

Figure 1. Whitaker, Lyman; kinetic sculpture

In the readings for this week, Walter Benjamin comments on the relationship between film and painting that I think really resonates with humanoid robots and sculptures. He compares a painter to magician and a cameraman to surgeon and explains how both of them would perform a surgical operation. The difference between the two is that a magician would conduct the surgery at a distance from reality, through magic, leaving room for interpretation. A surgeon on the other hand delves deeper into the body, and meticulously performs the surgery to effectively, and directly, alter reality. Filmmakers offer a representation of reality that is incomparable to painters because they offer a reality that is pure. [1]

Similarly, I believe that the concepts of humanoid robots would do the same for the world of sculpting. Traditionally, sculptures were a form of three dimensional art that was representation and had no movement. [2] However, during the 20th, artists began incorporating the aspect of movement into this field creating what is known as kinetic sculptures. These artists wanted to make movement as a critical component of the art rather than creating art that has movement. [3] In this context, I see it reasonable to consider humanoid robots to be the next step up from kinetic sculptures.

Furthermore, the concept of humanoid robots as sculptures could be pushed even further with the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI). Today, he type of AI art that exists include the imitation of aesthetics. This means that artists would create algorithms to analyze past artworks such as Renaissance paintings and then have the algorithm generate an image based on those paintings. [4] If machine learning and robots were to combine, it could open doors to the world of sculpting like never before. 

Figure 2. AI Art: Faceless Portraits Transcending Time

For example, the purpose of sculptures is to represent aspects of society and serve as a symbol of the past, the present, and the possible future. [5] Thus, theoretically humans could create robots to function as if they were living in the present to permanently encode our reality into art much like how a filmmaker captures images into reality. 

Figure 3. Revolting Robot from I, Robot

Of course, the creation of AI and humanoid robots also carries a multitude of ethical concerns. I turn to the popular film known as I, Robot as an accurate representation of these worries. The movie depicts the journey of a cop and his experiences with AI and the eventual AI revolt. This movie raises the question of how can we create AI robots safely as well as define the boundaries between what would be right and what would be wrong. 

References:

[1]  Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Marxists. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>.

[2] Sculpture: Definition, Types: Statues, Reliefs. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture.htm. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.

[3] “Kinetic Sculpture.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/kinetic-sculpture. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.

[4] “AI Is Blurring the Definition of Artist.” American Scientist, 6 Dec. 2018, https://www.americanscientist.org/article/ai-is-blurring-the-definition-of-artist.

[5] The Purpose of Creating Sculptures - Sculpture Types and Techniques. http://www.skulpturhalle.ch/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.

Image Sources:

[1] “Kinetic Sculpture.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/kinetic-sculpture. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.

[2] Bogost, Story by Ian. “The AI-Art Gold Rush Is Here.” The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/ai-created-art-invades-chelsea-gallery-scene/584134/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.

[3] “I Robot - 2259781.” Motor1.Com, https://www.motor1.com/photo/2259781/i-robot/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2021.