I think artificial life is very valuable for us to understand how things become. By understanding how computer evolution works I think we’ll get to understand a thing or two of our own evolution. Latham created his “own vision of nature” through artificial life. The text mentioned:
“However, here he is neither concerned with the simulation of biological processes, nor with the production of animated structures in the sense of artificial life.”
Which I think is important for the creative process. And I guess while we could potentially learn things about biology through artificial life, it doesn’t mean that it has to mimic biology. I think that’s the beauty about new technology. I believe machines don’t have to mimic us to exist.
It reminds me of a discussion about Artificial Intelligence that I had in one of the courses I took last semester, Affect and Emotion in Practice with Judith Doyle. We had a discussion about how AIs and robots don’t have to act and look like human to be intelligent. I think it’d be fun to live with them if they have their own personalities and quirks that aren’t human-like.
“Using these techniques, the computer becomes an intelligent coworker that suggests forms, something that once could never have imagined.”
I want to learn more about generative art and artificial nature, I think this is the collaboration between human and machine that I’ve been looking for, the poetry that I was talking about early last semester when I first started working with P5.js.
“System can assist an artist to create imaginative forms, and computers are good at applying systems, and very fast at drawing.”
I think, for me personally, I want to create art with computers because I want to collaborate with them. I’ve always treated my materials as my collaborators, be it pencil, wood, computer, or anything, really. I don’t want to manipulate my materials. I want to give them room to breathe. And slowly they will move, slowly they will dance with me. And I’ve always been fascinated by machines ever since I was a kid. To be able to create art with machines is a dream of mine.
Here is my attempt at Latham’s FormSynth
Nilam Sari 