Week 3 Blog: Art
and Robotics
The mechanization of the world
around us began with the invention and subsequent wide use of the printing
press in the 1400s. This has led to a mechanized world around us that Walter
Benjamin asserts has jeopardized the spirit of art and ruined its authenticity
(Benjamin, 1936). This opinion comes from 1936 and while I can understand
Benjamin's point, I think that he has interpreted a change with no malicious
intent as being a deadly threat to all art. It can only be imagined what
Benjamin would think of the world we live in today, where a photo or reproduction
of any work of art can be reached with a click. A modern interpretation of
Benjamin's thoughts shows that while Benjamin argued that a work's aura is
diminished by its reproduction and widespread viewing, this is not the case
(Peim, 2007). More accessibility to art enhances its cultural value in a world
where there are many other distractions for people in society.
Figure 1: Digital Representation of Van Gogh artwork
Another effect of mechanization is
the development of intelligent robots. Artificial intelligence has been hailed
as the next step forward for progress of human society as well as the doom of
the human race. It appears that the overwhelming opinion of the human race is
that artificial intelligence is a bad thing. Noted technology entrepreneur Elon
Musk has recently said that AI is the largest threat to human existence that
the planet currently faces (Gibbs, 2014). Popular culture seems to agree with
this opinion, with the most obvious example being the "Terminator"
movies. It follows then that through this expression of art, the general population will follow this idea of AI as a threat.
Figure 2: Malicious robots depicted in "Terminator"
films
There are groups of people who argue
that artificial intelligence will never reach the point of being able to think
for itself and act maliciously towards the human race (Winfield, 2014).
Whatever the thoughts, artificial intelligence development is continuing with
the hope of possibly creating care robots or some other beneficial tools (Vincent,
2014). We can only wait and see how the development of robots continues and
what effect it continues to have on society.
Figure 3: Care robot Baymax as depicted in "Big Hero
6"
Works Cited
Benjamin,
Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."
(1936). Print.
Gibbs,
Samuel. "Elon Musk: Artificial Intelligence Is Our Biggest Existential
Threat." The Guardian 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/27/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-ai-biggest-existential-threat>.
Peim, N. (2007), Walter Benjamin in the Age of Digital
Reproduction: Aura in Education: A Rereading of ‘The Work of Art in the Age of
Mechanical Reproduction’. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 41: 363–380.
Vincent,
James. "Japanese 'robot with a Heart' Will Care for the Elderly and
Children." The Independent 5 June 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/japanese-robot-with-a-heart-will-care-for-the-elderly-and-children-9491819.html>.
I think your blog is logically clear so that it is easy to read. I really like the fact that you connected art and robotics in more than one aspect. And in each aspect, I think you did well of expanding each one and provided adequate examples for them. Also, I think you did great to connect the required reading materials and your own ideas, also with convincing ideas.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you started with the beginnings of the mechanization of the world with history. Your post was very well written and clearly stated your ideas. I agree with your ideas and overall it was a solid post. Good work.
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