Magdeburg – When you read or see something about artificial intelligence (AI), it is usually about the negative consequences that it could have for people. Ingo Siegert and Matthias Busch are working intensively with AI at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and wanted to counter this pessimism and show that AI can also be helpful.
That’s why they organized the Felicia Festival for the first time, which was intended to pave access to the topic through art, especially music. In collaboration with the Gesellschaftshaus, workshops were held with well-known scientists from the AI field. Concerts and plays showed what the computer can do – and what it can’t.
Advantages and disadvantages of the new technology
The technology was critically discussed in a panel discussion, in which older visitors also took part with interest. “We don’t want to ignore the disadvantages,” emphasizes Ingo Siegert. It was deliberate that the artistic field was chosen as the approach. “Artists have always been technology pioneers,” says Matthias Busch.
Among other things, a play was performed in which a robot took part. While the human actors’ lines were written by a dramaturg, the artificial protagonist read out sentences written by the ChatGPT program. The result left the audience wondering, as Matthias Busch says. It is also their concern to show the limits of AI.
Can AI do art?
Professor Sebastian Stober from the University of Magdeburg showed interested parties AI tools with which they can quickly and easily create melody sequences. The two computer scientists Valentin Riess and Jost Alemann were impressed by it. “With the AI tools you can create sounds and songs very easily,” say the two, who are rather moderately musical.
But isn’t that to the detriment of real musicians? Stober sees huge potential for AI to be used both positively and negatively. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether a song created with AI is still art. From his point of view, the tool cannot create art because it does not want to express itself like an artist. But if something is triggered in the recipient, why shouldn’t it be art, says Stober.
Didgeridoo from the 3D printer
In his workshop, Jan Nehring shows how a didgeridoo can be created on a 3D printer using an AI program he programmed himself. Until now, the sound of the instrument had been rather random. A certain tone can be calculated using AI, he explains. Theoretically, this could also be transferred to other instruments. Young music lovers also took part in a workshop in which they made little robots dance.
Felicia will definitely be continued in 2024, as Matthias Busch announces. Then in combination with the Sinuston festival for electronic music. The following year it will take place independently again. “We have to deal with AI,” he says. Through the festival, this should also take place outside of the scientific environment. In the end, AI is a tool like any other that still needs to be refined. How you deal with it in the end always depends on the person themselves, says Busch.
2023-10-30 04:03:13
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