george lewis spoke alot about the flexability of
dancer/musician/computer interface at a computed art intensive at
simon fraser university. he works with a system that he has been
tweeking for a long time; at the point where the code controlling
the interface between himself, the musical instrument, and the
computer has a kind of artificial intelligence. what it boils down
to is that the machine has more freedom that is programmed into it,
and the way that it responds to the notes that George plays. This
kind of intelligence has a definite improvisational, spontaneous
feel to it, which changes over time. george said that this element
of artificial intelligence (ai) was much more engaging for himself
as the performer, that engagement then affecting the audience.
there is alot of work now being done with programming intelligence
into software. one example are programs that are somehow born, and
are shaped by the information that is entered in. the program
grows and learns to respond, just like a child. how the program
develops and matures is largely up to the person(s) that interacts
with it. i guess in relation to dance-tech the next step will be
in giving the machines more access to _self-determination_.
crs97