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# A new world built on technology

The historic match between Korean Go grandmaster Lee Se-dol and super computer Alpha Go sparked heightened interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and its ability to learn. With technological advances, coding has become an integral part of school education. Creativity has long been considered a unique human capacity, but a recent debate over AI’s ability to create art has raised several questions: Is creativity reserved only for humans? What does creativity mean for AI? Do we need to redefine creativity in the era of AI?

Against this backdrop, the ACT (Arts & Creative Technology) Festival 2022 was held from November 3 to 6 in Spaces 1 and 2 at the ACC Creation. It brought together artists, designers, engineers, and researchers to showcase a selection of creative art that blends the latest technologies with Asia’s cultural diversity and share innovative ideas.

Opening of ACT Festival 2022

Under the theme “Micro Utopias,” the event promoted the creative crossover between art and technology. Professionals from various fields were invited to experiment with social, cultural, and technological interactions and explore new possibilities. Their creative and experimental process was presented in the form of exhibitions held from July, including Bomulsun 3.0: Unlock the Secret, The Great Chronicle with Earth, Behind the Wall, and Sound Wall. The festival also included lectures and talks, audiovisual performances, and a workshop centering on “Micro Utopias,” a creative platform that encourages experience and participation and stimulates imagination.

Professor Yoon on “Making Artwork and Algorithmic Thinking” during Lectures and Talks

The festival delved into the concept of micro utopias where individuals envision different futures through creative thinking, instead of promoting a single, universal utopia for all. On the second day, Lectures and Talks were held under the theme “Art and Algorithmic Thinking,” with speeches from artists who participated in the ACC’s original production program. One of the speakers was Yoon Nara, Visiting Professor of the Convergence of Content and Management at Inha University, who gave a presentation on “Making Artwork and Algorithmic Thinking.” During the talk, he defined an algorithm as follows:

Yoon said an algorithm is “a step-by-step procedure and a series of well-defined steps,” with an emphasis on the word “well-defined.” To make his case, he showed a video of the Exact Instructions Challenge. In the video, a man tries to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich based only on directions from his children. After several failed attempts, the children specify each step with “well-defined” instructions (commands), and the man finally makes a decent snack.

# Translating our language into theirs

Human language can be often inaccurate, and it contains implications and non-verbal expressions. These include body gestures, facial expressions, eye gaze, and even silence. Computers are unable to pick up on these subtle human signs. If we want computers to do something for us, we need to be able to translate our language into theirs. In other words, algorithmic thinking comes down to entering the right commands into the computer.

Professor Yoon on “Making Artwork and Algorithmic Thinking” during Lectures and Talks

Personally, I majored in liberal arts. My use of the computer is limited to word processing and browsing the web. I am aware that technology has become integrated deeply into our daily lives, and AI sounds all too familiar now, as it is often mentioned in ads aimed at boosting the public’s faith in technology. Everybody talks about coding these days, so I assumed it was important, but I had no clue what it was.

Yoon’s lecture made me realize that coding is all about translating so that two entirely different beings – human and computer – can communicate with each other and inputting the translated language into the computer. Afterwards, I felt a lot closer to the computer. It now felt like a foreigner who doesn’t speak my language, or someone I can at least communicate with using body language. Learning to use and read that body language seemed like a challenge, but I thought it might be worth a try.

The professor noted that language barriers are not new to the mankind. But this time, we are caught off guard, because the audience of communication is a machine, not a fellow human. This unfamiliarity creates difficulties for many when using technology. However, technological advances are inevitable, and if we have to use them either in everyday life or art, we might as well start from algorithmic thinking.

# The utopia that we long for

Yoon showed the work of the renowned conceptual artist Sol LeWitt as an example of how algorithmic thinking works in art. In his instructions for Wall Drawing #51, LeWitt dictated that all architectural points be connected by straight lines. The work exists as a concept in itself. Depending on the site of installation, it would appear differently.

Wall Drawing #358 was created by a human in 1995 based on LeWitt’s instructions written in human language. In 2004, Casey Reas created its digital version by encoding LeWitt’s instructions. LeWitt’s work took a new form even after his death in 2007.

As such, technology can open doors to new possibilities for all. The pandemic has changed our notion of the metaverse. What was once considered a virtual space where children make avatars to play games has transformed into a sophisticated communication tool that helps people envision their unrealized dreams and desires for a new world. Enabled by technology, the metaverse helped visualize an ideal utopia that only existed in one’s imagination.

The ACT Festival 2022 offered a glimpse into how technology is incorporated into art, and how it supports artistic imagination. Some of the works presented seemed unfamiliar and hard to interpret. Nonetheless, the event generated expectations for new attempts to be made at the intersection of art and technology, and what new micro utopias will be created as a result. For anyone who missed the festival, check out the exhibitions Sound Wall and Sound Slope which will continue until February next year.

Audiovisual performance subassemblies by Ryoichi Kurokawa

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