All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is a 1967 poem by Richard Brautigan that describes the peaceful and harmonious cohabitation of humans and computers. Fifty years later – following the technological revolutions brought about by the internet, big data, cloud computing and deep learning – Brautigan’s vision resonates singularly. It compels us to rethink our interactions with machines, even in regards to the intimate act of artistic creation. In collaboration with its American partners, France’s Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) invites participants to discover some remarkable examples of possible artistic relationships between humans and computers during two seminars featuring researchers and artists who are building this new deal.
This event is organized by IRCAM – the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music – and the STMS lab (The French National Centre for Scientific Research, the Ministry of Culture and Sorbonne University), in collaboration with Georgia Tech’s School of Music, NYU Steinhardt – Music Education, the UC Berkeley Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, and the Atlanta Office of the Cultural Services of the Embassy of France in the United States.
Virtual exhibition:
From October 12-18, a virtual exhibition will be accessible in order to present excerpts of works and tools that heavily rely on artificial intelligence techniques and that question the relationship between human and machines. The exhibition includes works by such artists and researchers as Daniele Ghisi (composer), Jérôme Nika (researcher, IRCAM), Jason Freeman (Georgia Tech), Carmine Emanuel Cella (professor and composer, CNMAT – CU Berkeley), Alex Ruthman (professor, New York University).
http://repmus.ircam.fr/franceatlanta2020
Discussions:
October 14-15, 11:00 a.m. (Atlanta) / 5:00 p.m. (Paris)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rits1jfrxuo&feature=youtu.be
Event Partners:
- IRCAM: The Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music is one of the world’s largest public research centers dedicated to musical creation and scientific research. A unique venue where artistic vision converges with scientific and technological innovation, the institute directed by Frank Madlener brings together over 160 collaborators. IRCAM hosts the UMR9912 STMS Ircam – CNRS – Sorbonne University science and technologies research lab.
- STMS Lab: The fundamental principle of the STMS Lab is to encourage productive interaction among scientific research, technological developments, and contemporary music production. Since its establishment in 1995, this initiative has provided the foundation for the institute’s activities. One of the major issues is the importance of contributing to the renewal of musical expression through science and technology. Conversely, specific problems related to contemporary composition have led to innovative, theoretical, methodological, and applied advances in the sciences with ramifications far beyond the world of music. The work carried out in the STMS joint research lab (Science and Technology of Music and Sound) is supported by the CNRS, Sorbonne Université and the French Ministry of Culture.
- NYU: New York University is a private research university based in New York City and founded in 1831 by Albert Gallatin as an institution to “admit based upon merit rather than birthright or social class”. NYU is the largest independent research university in the United States. The university has numerous research efforts, including founding the American Chemical Society and holding research partnerships with the Inception Institute of Artificial Intelligence and with major technology firms such as Twitter and IBM. The university has also since launched various internal research centers in the fields of artificial intelligence, history, culture, medicine, mathematics, philosophy, and economics.
- Georgia Tech: The Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, is a top-ranked public college and one of the leading research universities in the USA. Georgia Tech provides a technologically focused education to more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students in fields ranging from engineering, computing, and sciences, to business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech’s wide variety of technologically-focused majors and minors consistently earn strong national rankings. Georgia Tech has six colleges and 28 schools focusing on Business, Computing, Design, Engineering, Liberal Arts, and Sciences.
- UC Berkeley: The University of California is a public research university. The University was founded in 1868, born out of a vision in the State Constitution of a university that would “contribute even more than California’s gold to the glory and happiness of advancing generations.” It is the oldest campus of the University of California system and ranks among the world’s top universities in major educational publications. Berkeley offers over 350 degree programs through its 14 colleges and schools.