I am defining creativity as "the generation of an output which is not explicitly learned". This is a medium independent defintion, allowing a conversation about the relationship between human and non-human creativity to commence.
My thesis draws on two key assumptions:
1. Human creativity is an emergent property of the computational structure of memory.
2. Computation is medium independent.

From here, my project develops as an attempt to create a system of electronic memory which embodies some of the characteristics of human memory underlying creative ability.

"Art = imitation of nature in her manner of operation"

-John Cage, Themes and Variations


“Artificial Life is the study of man-made systems that exhibit behaviors characteristic of natural living systems. It complements the traditional biological sciences concerned with the analysis of living organisms by attempting to synthesize life-like behaviors within computers and other artificial media. By extending the empirical foundation upon which biology is based beyond the carbon-chain life that has evolved on Earth, Artificial Life can contribute to theoretical biology by locating life-as-we-know-it within the larger picture of life-as-it-could-be.”

-Christopher Langton, Artificial Life


I have been interested in Artificial Life (Alife) since I learned how to program a computer. Right away I started playing with neural networks, genetic algorithms and artificial life. I built robots and explored ideas of emergence in language and collective behavior. The field immediately appealed to my artistic sensibility. Coming from a background in electronic art it seemed a natural path to explore. Conceptually, it takes John Cage's idea of indeterminacy and chance operations one step further; the work is not only free of the artist's hand, it actually has a life of it's own. In this way I am synthesizing the two quotations above to create an art form which abstracts nature's manner of operation as the seed of a new nature.

I approach to Alife as a conceptual artist. I begin with a subject I am interested in exploring; in this case the emergence of creativity. I research and experiment with the tools and media necessary to determine my own opinion and I present the process and outcome of the experiments as art. It is conceptual because the art is the idea itself. It is my concept of artificial creativity and a record of my work towards it. In other words, the art object is de-materialized and what remains is the evidence of process. It is in this sense research without development.


My goal for this project is to examine how the theoretical nature of the human mind arises from the parallel distibuted system of the human brain, and derive what this might look like in the electronic nature of the machine. By working with a machine brain to abstract processes associated with the human concept of mind, I am hoping to better understand how seemingly undefinable concepts like "creativity" emerge and whether they are particular to humanity or applicable to our experience of machines as well.

Main technological themes:
1. Neural Networks
2. Genetic Algorithms
3. Evolving Hardware

Technological Precedent:
1. Stephen Thaler's "Creativity Machine"
http://www.imagination-engines.com/
2. George Christos' spurious memory Hopfield Network models
3. John Antrobus' neural network models of dreaming
4. R. E. Hoffman's neural network model of schizophrenia

Past projects of mine in a similar vein:
1. Netlingua www.deweyhagborg.com/netlingua

My thesis consists of a theoretical component and a computational component. Theory is the backbone; what makes it possible to talk about creativity in humans and machines. Stemming from this are my computational experiments, programs I have written exploring a computational basis for machine creativity.
For the show I will exhibit a live demonstration of the functionality of one or more programs I have written, along with documentation of the inputs and outputs of my system. This will consist of printed images, possibly sound, and a computer display.

Beginning with the idea that machines can have a creative life of their own I have developed a system which begins to make that goal a reality. There is much work left to be done. But I believe my project shows that creative machines are possible, both theoretically and physically. It is my hope that this possibility will be explored by others as well and will be used for purposes beyond profit.
With further development I believe creative machines can offer human beings a perspective on human affairs akin to an alien culture by providing an outsider interpretation of the people, objects and relations that comprise our culture.
If machines are to become creative, not profit-driven innovation engines as in Thaler's work, they need to create essentially and purposelessly because their internal structure embodies it and their environment demands it. This will initiate a fundamentally new relationship between humans and their technology and will demand a re-examination of human ontology.