Creativity and Autonomy in Swarm Intelligence Systems

This work introduces two swarm intelligence algorithms -- one mimicking the behaviour of one species of ants (\emph{Leptothorax acervorum}) foraging (a `Stochastic Diffusion Search', SDS) and the other algorithm mimicking the behaviour of birds flocking (a `Particle Swarm Optimiser', PSO) -- and outlines a novel integration strategy exploiting the local search properties of the PSO with global SDS behaviour. The resulting hybrid algorithm is used to sketch novel drawings of an input image, exploliting an artistic tension between the local behaviour of the `birds flocking' - as they seek to follow the input sketch - and the global behaviour of the `ants foraging' - as they seek to encourage the flock to explore novel regions of the canvas. The paper concludes by exploring the putative `creativity' of this hybrid swarm system in the philosophical light of the `rhizome' and Deleuze's well known `Orchid and Wasp' metaphor

On evil and computational creativity

This paper touches upon the philosophical concept of evil in the context of creativity in general, and computational creativity in particular. In this work, dark creativity is introduced and linked to two important pre-requisites of creativity (i.e. freedom and constraints). A hybrid computational system is then presented; it includes one swarm intelligence algorithm, Stochastic Diffusion Search – mimicking the foraging behaviour of one species of ant, Leptothorax acervorum – and one physiological mechanism – imitating the behaviour of Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The aim is to outline an integration strategy deploying the search capabilities of the swarm intelligence algorithm and the destructive power of the digital virus. The swarm intelligence algorithm determines the colour attribute of the dynamic areas of interest within the input image, and the digital virus modifies the state of the input image, creating the projection of ‘evil’ over time (evil is used here as excessive use of underlying freedom). The paper concludes by exploring the significance of sensorimotor couplings and the impact of intentionality and genuine understanding of computational systems in the light of the philosophical concept of weak and strong computational creativity

LA STANZA ROSSA Trasversalit\ue0 artistiche e realt\ue0 virtuali negli anni Novanta

All\u2019inizio degli anni Novanti, \u201cLa Stanza Rossa\u201d \ue8 stata la prima rivista in Italia a occuparsi in maniera \u201cprogrammatica\u201d del rapporto fra l\u2019arte e le nuove tecnologie, che cominciavano allora a diffondersi, e a permeare concretamente la vita e i costumi delle societ\ue0 \u201cavanzate\u201d. I saggi e le interviste raccolti in questo volume, che coinvolgono i personaggi pi\uf9 prestigiosi della riflessione contemporanea, da Regis Debray a Enrico Ghezzi, da Jean Fran\ue7ois Lyotard a John Cage, sono solo alcuni degli interventi ospitati sulla rivista, durante quasi un decennio di lavoro, dal 1991 al 1998. Ma forniscono un\u2019importante testimonianza di quella che \ue8 stata la posta in gioco di quel periodo, quando l\u2019impatto dei media e delle nuove tecnologie sembrava mutare per sempre il ruolo e la pratica dell\u2019arte. E anticipano, con lucidit\ue0, situazioni e percorsi che il futuro prossimo avrebbe avverato e che oggi sono al centro delle nostre preoccupazioni

Pio Monte della Misericordia. Il patrimonio storico e artistico

L'opera, in due tomi, raccoglie saggi e schede sul patrimonio storico e artistico conservato nella chiesa e nella pinacoteca del Pio Monte della Misericordia, fondato a Napoli all'inizio del XVII secolo