Developing a world where no one assumes Creativity and AI are in opposition
Fostering Diversity in AI-Generated Art - There is a Real Problem That Needs to Be Addressed
Even the most advanced AI can fall into uniformity. My experiments with ChatGPT revealed a tendency toward a singular poetic voice—an echo of John Keats in 249 of 250 generated poems (without intentionally or explicitly prompting for such an influence, or for any particular poet, movement, or style). This discovery drives my commitment to diversify AI responses, ensuring our creative tools resonate with the full spectrum of human expression. My work as a researcher at Microsoft Research focuses on making sure that we can see the diversity of artistic expressions.
The answer has to come from both computer scientists and artists - here are a few of my journeys...
Identity-Based Exploration: Redefining and Exploring Your Creative Self
What if your inner narrative could blossom into a multidimensional work of art that was not in any way competing with the work of your own two hands? With my identity-based exploration tool, an "identity statement" unfolds into a rich tapestry of poetic, musical, narrative, and visual expressions. It is a transformative process that invites you to explore hidden facets of your creative identity, without any pretense of replacing you. An identity statement can be a two-word artistic stereotype you'd like to reclaim (e.g., "Swing Composer"), or a multi-paragraph explanation of who you are as an artist.
Manifestos as Generative Material for Alternative Personae
Artists shouldn't have to feel comfortable handing computer scientists their work. As described above, an identity statement is enough to generate interesting art that is not a replacement for you. But if you want to go one step further, you can provide a manifesto - a statement of artistic beliefs - and learn more about 'alternative personae' who could share your beliefs but are decidedly not... you,
I have always believed that art is a conversation—a dialogue between the old and the new, but also between media. My Visual Homages serve as counter-egos to poets, transforming the essence of text into a living visual narrative (creating not just another piece of DALL-E art, but a unique Visual Poem which, like all Visual Poetry, draws on and transcends both the poetic and visual traditions). When Charles Bernstein called my homage a "counter-ego or non-human comrade," it affirmed my vision of art that transcends traditional boundaries. Similarly, I have set non-songwriting musicians to song, and even derived short stories from an interpretation of visual art.
A Collection of Aesthetically and Mathematically Rigorous Scholarship: Art is Beautiful, And So Is Computation
In a realm where digital tools often seem to impose limits, I like to show how mathematics and computation make artistic practice even more 'magical'. By revealing that Ableton is Turing complete-that is, that it is in some ways the same as our most powerful supercomputers—I expose the beautiful unpredictability of live performance. My work melds rigorous computation with an artist’s intuition, challenging you to reimagine your creative medium. I would be happy to work with you on formalizing any theory you have about your art in a language computer scientists or mathematicians would appreciate.
I invite fellow poets, narrators, musicians, and visual artists to share your identity statements and/or manifestos. Alternatively, grant me the honor of crafting a Cross-Medium Homage to your work, as we co-create a future where AI is a tool that empowers art. Or, please let me know how you want your creative self to be enhanced with the help of AI!
