Does Mechanization Turn Men into Robots or Robots into Men?

Photo: “Fille Née Sans Mèr (translation ‘Girl Born without Mother’)”. Francis Picabia. 1917.

“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” -Herbert George Wells

In one month’s time, I will be attending a lecture detailing the development of a robot with the ability to recreate “faithful copies of large historical objects” in order to solve the dilemma brought on from art traded outside its country of origin. The art piece in question originated from the ancient Acropolis in Athens and is currently housed in the British Museum. The opportunity to witness the ability of three-dimensional machining’s role in the creation of artifacts from antiquity is highly fascinating. The innovation of this type of technology could lead to recreating the Victory stele of Naram-Sin, Stele with law code of Hammurabi, and enormous Lamassu!

In the September 2022 issue of Noēma magazine, Amanda Rees writes on artificial intelligence, “accelerating over the past decade, alongside advances in computing, data analysis, cloud technology and deep learning. Joining computer scientists in their anticipation of AI, eagerly or otherwise, are theologians, artists, and the general public.” Amazing. This fusion of the arts and sciences working together in harmony was a topic rarely explored at my college—where the two schools of thought were physically separated with an unspoken rivalry between the North Campus (arts) v. South Campus (science). This quandary, or state of perplexity, could easily be solved when the arts and sciences work harmoniously together.

Last week, TheJagged created the forum topic “AI Generated Art (aka we're all out of a job soon)” under Comic Talk and General Discussions. The forum thread shines a light on the the advancements of an artificial intelligence algorithm’s ability to create a whole, original artwork using keywords prompted into a generator. Several users on the Duck have posted examples of art created using this technique and, honestly, it is mind-blowing.

“Of my friend, I can only say this. Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most human.” -Captain Kirk, “The Wrath of Khan”

In the spirit of innovation and bridging the gap between the arts and sciences, I fully embrace the idea of an AI that can create art AND comics. The day I unknowingly feature a comic generated by an AI because its art style and writing inspire me to laugh out loud, will be the day (in my book) that robot-kind move one step closer to mankind.


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