Breathing life into AI – querying AI through tactile imprints using breath and sound

Abstract

This chapter challenges the perception of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a disembodied, mechanistic force that replaces human labour and creativity. It reframes AI as an entangled, co-creative system, shaped by human embodiment and sensory experiences. Drawing on perspectives from Suchman (2007), Berger (2005), Chrisley (2003), and Rocktäschel (2024), the chapter critiques reductionist views of AI and highlights its reciprocal relationship with human creative practices. A case study examines how traces of human presence are imprinted in sound recordings, Neural Audio Synthesis (NAS) outputs, and real-time embodied interactions with AI through RAVE (Caillon & Esling, 2021), considering whether AI preserves or statistically flattens human presence. A practice research project in musical improvisation with NAS is presented, focusing on the duo of Franziska Schroeder (saxophone) and Federico Reuben (laptop improvisation/live coding). The project is discussed through a proposed dual-aspect model of embodied AI, comprising two interrelated concepts: embodied data and embodying data. This model provides a framework for understanding AI’s role in preserving human embodiment across creative domains. The chapter considers ethical, cultural, and economic challenges, advocating for an approach to AI that foregrounds embodiment and co-creativity to enhance rather than diminish human sensory experience