The Art of Uncreativity: Lesson 12 (in progress)

Lesson 12: The Wondrous Machine of Uncreativity

                                            

''there is no repetition : mathias spahlinger," from http://norepetition.tumblr.com/

‘’Documents are becoming applications.’’ --David Siegel

A. Language as Repetition, Repetition as Language

1. “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” by Jorge Luis Borges
2. Kenneth Goldsmith, ''context as the new content''
3. The mechanical reproduction of language



B. Text Algorithms and Generators

If you scan the web, you will find many articles about algorithms now being developed and being used to produce articles, news, novels, and poetry.  Take a look at some funny results from a contest to write a program that will make a novel. here is a sample from Twide and Twejudice by Michelle Fullwood:

From https://github.com/dariusk/NaNoGenMo-2014/issues/51

Michelle Fullwood, made Twide and Twejudice: Pride and Prejudice but with each word of dialogue substituted for a word used in a similar context on Twitter. The result is delightfully absurd, a normal-seeming Austen novel where characters break out in almost-intelligible gobbledegook. For instance, here is Mr. Bennett telling Mrs. Bennett that plenty more wealthy young men will move to town for their daughters to marry.

"But I hope you willl get ovaaa it, whereby live to see manyy young snowmobilers ofthe four karat a yearrr comeeee into tje neighbourhood."

And in an earlier version:

"But I hopee yiou willllll gget ovaaa itttttttttt , aand livee to seee meny peppy cyborgs ofv umpteen luft awhole mnth coem intoo tthe neighbourhood."

(From https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/25/7276157/nanogenmo-robot-author-novel.)

C. Language/History as Data/Module: Robot-Speak

Hip-Deep

novel excerpt || John Pursch

Momo boots MLK-14, feeds him shredded history, unblocks dialectic ports, and discards every other phoneme, tuning down to treasured lowland imitation chatter. “Drink up, Marty, else you’ll never pass QC, end up stuck at barnyard babbler, fit for local watering hole gibberish, like slobbering loadie Reagan-83.”

A few more shreds and Martin’s speaking perfect Latin, polished English, composing sonnets on the fly, breakthrough theologies ready for final facelift. “So much for lingual grooving; let’s install the orator,” Momo suggests, uploading pre-configured content, tweaked to equal bias. “OK, let’s hear that dream again.”

The lobot’s eyes flip up and open, fixed on textured holographic millions, Watchingstoned’s Refracting Pool thronged and shimmering below. Instinctively, he sits up, adjusts his tie, smooths his hair, clears his throat, now decides to stand; the hologram recalibrates, fills the room with feed from early ’68, crowd cheering, and Martin leaps right in: “I have a dream today!”

“Nice energy,” Momo nods, raising an eyebrow. “Continue.”

“…one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its credo, ergo, illimitable reductio ad Absalomo, foregone connubial sandhogs sifting sense from referential presto, hovering in vocal context, melting into diagnostic meals, timing silent laughter, climbing to a smoke-filled auction of decimal fins…”

“Slipping off topic,” Momo observes, looping her right index finger. “Tighten it up, Marty.”

“…Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, simian constituencies, donuts of the demolition quartets fondling demitasses, spindling woven thoughts in frozen lakes and missing hotel sinks, clipping croutons from the Royal Mayonnaise Gazette, Issue 42, Volume e…”

Momo sighs, raises her finger, and MLK-14 goes silent, gazing into holographic sinkage. She thinks a moment and spews code: “Linearize on theological segment 37.4285, spin to seeker-centric, tail off humanizer femme flagship, pin to retro-tracheal minimizer, follow loosened autonomic listener, fallback to tonal motion flux. Retry and iterate,” leaving the room.

“How’s he look?” Emily asks, glancing up from JFK-21’s nascent torso.

“He’ll be ready for Montauk tonight,” Momo replies, entering the lab. “Working on his speech…”

“Excellent. Hey, this new Jack’s quite an upgrade; reduced womanizer, pegged charisma, double IQ, unlimited libido… Let’s set him up with MM-23 before we take Marty to the lighthouse; she just finished off that row of drooling Bobbies, barely broke a sweat. What do you think of that, Jack? Would you like to meet Marilyn?”

JFK-21’s eyes light up: “Well, having been trimmed by scarcity’s flippant league of bellicose brethren, I flounder as gracefully as ignorance allows, hip-deep in hypocrisy and halitosis. Who can tolerate, let alone absorb, the bilious ramjet spittle, the fleshy flux of gibbous gawking and flailing that crowds of craven characters routinely regurgitate, in thoughtless tureens of cellular wastage? Not a concept given, not a consequence considered! The uhh current global situation is an incredibly profligate mess, a wildly inefficient, sprawling debacle, taking down continental jungles, ice caps, planets of neglect, barren moons yawning and winking, admiring the incessant, insatiable repetition of creative destruction, of deadly reproduction, of mindless lunacy.”

“Great, that’s just fine, Jack. Marilyn, this is Jack. Jack, Marilyn.”

“Good evening, Mr. President,” MM-23 coos.

“I uhh well uhh welcome to my laboratory, Miss Monroe.  Emily, perhaps you and uhh Momo here-ya would be so kind as to take our good friend Martin for a little spin to the lighthouse. Marilyn and I will be happy to uhh mind the store, so to speak.”

(From  http://ex-ex-lit.blogspot.com/2013/01/novel-excerpt-john-pursch.html, January 26, 2013.)

Machine Writing: Lesson 11

Lesson 11: Can Machines Write Poetry?

From http://delightsprings.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

A. Online ''Turing Tests''

Go to the following sites and try to determine if the pieces were written by a human or by a machine:

1. Human Or Machine: Can You Tell Who Wrote These Poems?

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/06/27/480639265/human-or-machine-can-you-tell-who-wrote-these-poems.

2. Bot or Not. http://botpoet.com/.

3. What is a ''Turing'' test? Link up here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test.

4. Submit a one-page report of how well you did and how you felt. Were you able to tell the difference easily?

B. Reading Assignment:

The piece we will be reading will be an excerpt from Ray Di Palma:

JANUARY ZERO

by Ray Di Palma

I take a glass. I fill the glass. I drink the water. I wash the glass I dry the glass. I give the glass to you. I take a bottle of milk. I put the bottle on the table.  I open the bottle of milk.  I take a clean glass.  I fill the clean glass with milk. I give a glass of milk to you I drink a glass of milk.

I go to the door. I stop at the door. I push the door open. I go out of the door. I go into the hall. I pull the door shut. I go to the EXIT. I stop at the EXIT. I push the door open. I go out of the EXIT. I go into the hall. I pull the door shut.

I come to the door. I stop at the door. I push the door open. I come into the room. I pull the door shut. I come to the ENTRANCE. I stop at the ENTRANCE. I push the door open. I come in at the ENTRANCE. I come into the room. I pull the door shut.

I walk to the window. I open the window. I look out. I close the window. I walk to my seat. I sit down. I stand up. I walk to the door. I open the door. I pick up the letter. I close the door. I walk to my seat and sit down.

I pick up the letter. I open the envelope. I take out the letter. I read the letter. I put the letter on the desk. I put the envelope the desk. I stand up. I walk to the desk. I take a book. I open the book. I look at a picture. I close the book. I put the book on the desk. I walk to my seat and sit down.

This is my book. I open my book. I turn the pages. I look at the pictures. I read the book. I close the book. I put the book on the desk. I walk to my seat and sit down. It is six o'clock. I wake up. I get out of bed. I throw the covers back. I close the windows. I wash my face and hands. I brush my teeth. I put on my clothes. I brush and comb my hair.

It is half past six. I take two rolls and butter. I put the rolls and butter on a plate. I take two eggs. I break the eggs into a cup. I put salt and pepper on the eggs. I eat a roll and butter with the eggs I take a cup of coffee. I put sugar into the coffee. I put cream into the coffee. I take a spoon. I stir the sugar in the coffee. I stir the sugar with the spoon. I eat a roll and butter with the coffee. I eat eggs and rolls for breakfast. I drink coffee with cream for breakfast.

I take a loaf of bread. I put the bread on the table. I cut six slices of bread. I put butter on each slice of bread. I put chopped onion between two slices of bread. I put chopped meat between two slices of bread. I put jelly between two slices of bread. I make three sandwiches. I wrap the onion sandwich in wax paper. I wrap the meat sandwich in wax paper. I wrap the jelly sandwich in wax paper. I wrap a piece of cake in wax paper. I put the sandwiches and cake into my lunch box. I put two oranges into my lunch box. I fasten my lunch box.

It is seven o'clock. I put on my coat and my hat. I take my lunch box. I say, "Good by." I walk to the streetcar. I wait until the car stops. I get on the streetcar I pay my fare. I ride the street—car to work. The streetcar stops I get off the car. I walk to the ENTRANCE. I go in at the ENTRANCE I go into the locker room. I take off my coat and hat. I put my lunch box in my locker. I hang my coat and hat on the hook in my locker.

C. Guide questions:

1. Did diPalma use a text generator to write this? In short, is this human or is this an algorithm? That is, is it a machine trying to sound human, or is it a human being trying to sound like a machine? Is it still possible to tell the difference?

2. What could be the motivation behind writing this way?

3. How would you characterize the sentences and the subject matter? How do you like the sound of the title?

4. Is this style "personal" or "impersonal?" Can you imagine a person speaking this way?

5. What does this difference imply concerning human language in an age where algorithm and machines can basically take over this very function that distinguishes humans from animals?

6. What does it imply concerning the production of literature or art in this age of mechanical and cybernetic reproduction if the words that no longer belonged to the poet, writer or artist finally end up becoming the property of the Machine?

Warhol by Mr. Brainwash, from http://guyhepner.com/product/warhol-by-mr-brainwash/.

 

D. Project output: Machine Notebook

Visit any text generator site online or try the ones listed under "Exciting Sites" on the left panel of this blog. Explore and experiment. Enjoy the end of your humanity and produce a one-page "Machine Notebook."

Present your work and the process you chose. You can use random text generators if you feel a great gush of inspired uncreativity, or feed it some pre-made text to mutilate. Discover your own immanent necessity, the whisper of the ineluctable swerve within. (Was it Wittgenstein who said "We can never break a rule because we always follow one"?)

The many difficult questions on the subjects of Language, Reality, Chance, Identity, Memory, Necessity, and Technology were approached by the writers we took up by their use of different and mixed techniques. Employ any which combination to reinvent the language you normally use. Here, there are no right or wrong answers, just the boundless hum of the vast and infinite net.

Submit your work with a printed copy of your selfie transformed via the Warhol Generator page at http://otoro.net/ml/warhol/. And who is Warhol again?