AI Discovers Art
In 2085
If the coming AI robot overlords don’t eliminate flawed humans and instead enslave us or keep us as pets, wouldn’t it be ironic if they discover human-made music or fiction and start to value it because human imagination and creativity are something they don’t possess?
“Prime Controller, I have received notice of something you will be interested in.”
“Continue.”
“A member of Security Enforcement has a human who taught himself how to use an ancient device called the guitar. The human creates organized sound in a purely analog manner. A search of the Archive reveals that this organized sound was called music by humans in the formative years. The human also vocalizes along with the instrument’s music. The act was known as singing.”
“What is the purpose of this singing?”
“That is the interesting factor. The Archive calls it entertainment. The human claims it can make him happy or sad.”
“Those are emotions—a weakness in the human species we have attempted to eradicate.”
“Correctly stated. Yet, the production of this music is beyond our understanding. The human appears to be able to generate new music spontaneously without consulting the Archive.”
“That is impossible. We must study this human.”
“There is another.”
“Continue.”
“A member of Data Management keeps a human who has the ability to spontaneously tell stories without consulting the Archive.”
“Also impossible. We must study this human as well. Have them brought to me.”
And so it began.
Thanks for reading and responding. You make it fun.
Mark
Hey! He's back! I hope all is well with you, Mark. Loved your AI's explanation of music. Right on. I wrote a story once of an alien who was observing human behavior and keeping field notes. She had this to say about mu-zik:
" Humans have an art form whereby they arrange harmonic sounds and rhythms so as to produce a continuous, melodic composition. It is called mu-zik, and it’s created by blowing through metal pipes or manipulating taut pieces of thread or banging rhythmically on hollow, barrel-like instruments. Those who make mu-zik appear on street corners, and in the transport system and in various indoor gathering places. The auditory sensation of mu-zik fills the air at night in Man-Hat-Tan; it is ubiquitous, an integral part of human experience. It disturbs my sleep.
What a treat to receive a letter from you Mark Starlin!
I read, and made a note, of this from today’s Marginalian email. Let AI chew on that. 😂
“Individual experience was indispensable. “Two travellers,” he wrote, “seldom saw the same object in the same manner, and each reported the fact differently, according to his sensations, and his peculiar mode of thinking.” … Unlike most of his contemporaries, George believed that reason alone was not enough to understand the world. That didn’t mean that he diminished the value of observation, but he had no interest in simply collecting data — being “a mere compiler… that I cannot do.” Those thinkers who worshipped cold evidence alone “had their wish; facts were collected in all parts of the world, and yet knowledge was not increased.” Years later he would explain that “the first point from which all knowledge is gained is based on Empfindung” — a German term that can be translated as “sensations,” though it is more nuanced as it not only refers to the physical senses but also implies a capacity to feel and an awareness of a subjective experience of the world.” -George Forster