Robotis and Art

During this week,we looked at how science and art intertwine with the use of robotics. It can technically go way back to when the Chinese invented the printing press. (Vesna) Artist started to use robotics very early on, in manufacturing and with industrialization. For example, the Russian artistic movement Constructivism once encouraged artists to make artworks as industrial products. In history, the development of art seemed to be based on the advancement of scientific technology and industrialization in order to achieve mass production. However, I wonder if human have lost something during this rapid development and advancement. According to Walter Benjamin, mechanization and streamlining production processes comes at the cost of art losing uniqueness and authenticity.

It is true that some famous artists made artworks with new technology with the risk of losing uniqueness and originality. For example, after the development of photography and journalism, Andy Warhol made his artworks by reproducing photos of celebrities from journals or the packaging of mass-produced products such as cans. He even encouraged people to act like machines and robots. He admitted in the interview that his works were not original and he did so because the replication was easier than the creation of something new in this advanced world. The development of scientific technology may simplify hard work and comfort human life, but may leave less space human creativity due to the influence of “mass culture.”

Additionally, the success of AlphaGo, a computer program developed by Google DeepMind, made me worry about the future of human art. AlphaGo can improve its skills of playing the board game Go by matching with human players. In March 2016, it successfully beat Lee Sedol, a top human player, in a five-game match. I wonder if artificial technology could replace human artists one day.

Sources:

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A. Underwood. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

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