INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology 2

Abstract

The subject of machine learning and creativity, as well as its appropriation in arts is the focus of this issue with our Main theme of – Artificial Intelligence in Music, Arts, and Theory. In our invitation to collaborators, we discussed our standing preoccupation with the exploration of technology in contemporary theory and artistic practice. The invitation also noted that this time we are encouraged and inspired by Catherine Malabou’s new observations regarding brain plasticity and the metamorphosis of (natural and artificial) intelligence. Revising her previous stance that the difference between brain plasticity and computational architecture is not authentic and grounded, Malabou admits in her new book, Métamorphoses de l'intelligence: Que faire de leur cerveau bleu? (2017), that plasticity – the potential of neuron architecture to be shaped by environment, habits, and education – can also be a feature of artificial intelligence. “The future of artificial intelligence,” she writes, “is biological.” We wanted to provoke a debate about what machines can learn and what we can learn from them, especially regarding contemporary art practices. On this note, I am happy to see that our proposition has provoked intriguing and unique responses from various different disciplines including: theory of art, aesthetics of music, musicology, and media studies. The pieces in the (Inter)view section deal with machine and computational creativity, as well as the some of the principles of contemporary art. Reviews give us an insight into a couple of relevant reading points for this discussion and a retrospective of one engaging festival that also fits this theme