Ben Bogart

Artengine's ARTIFICIAL IMAGINATION

Ben Bogart explores the concept of “machine subjectivity” within the realm of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Bogart delves into the intricate relationship between human cognitive processes and autonomous machines. They challenge the conventional view of machine learning as merely objective statistical models, proposing instead that these systems can be seen as subjective entities capable of autonomous learning and decision-making.

Bogart discusses how machines, through unsupervised learning algorithms, categorize and interpret data, drawing imaginary boundaries that mimic human cognitive biases. This process highlights the subjective nature of machine perception, questioning the objectivity traditionally attributed to technological systems. Bogart uses visual examples from their artistic work, particularly their project that involves deconstructing and reconstructing cinematic frames, to illustrate how machines “perceive” and “imagine” based on the data they process.

Throughout the talk, Bogart emphasizes the importance of recognizing the subjective interpretations embedded within machine learning systems. They advocate for a deeper understanding of how these systems construct knowledge and the implications of their integration into societal frameworks, aiming to foster a dialogue that reassesses the interplay between human and machine cognition.

This presentation was part of the symposium ARTIFICIAL IMAGINATION which unites innovative artists engaged with emerging technologies. This focused on exploring and sharing their individual practices, experiences, and insights related to algorithms, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. It served as a platform for an enriching exchange of ideas between the artists and the audience, aiming to contribute a distinctive artistic viewpoint to the ongoing discussions about our evolving relationships with machine collaborators. Each session, including this one, highlighted how these technologies are being integrated and reflected in contemporary artistic processes, encouraging a broader understanding and appreciation of the creative potential of new digital tools.

Ben Bogart is a generative artist primarily working in installation and print whose practice is located at the intersection of art and science. His installations create content live in response to their sensed environment. Physical modelling, chaos, feedback systems, evolutionary algorithms, computer vision, and machine learning have been used to inform and engage in his creative process. Ben holds a Ph.D. in Interactive Arts and Technology from Simon Fraser University. In his Ph.D. research, he proposes an Integrative Theory of cognitive and neuro-biological mechanisms of perception, mental imagery, mind-wandering, and dreaming. This cognitive framework is manifest in a computational model and site-specific generative art installation: Dreaming Machine #3.

My hope really is that we can all consider the degree to which both our machines and our own mental processes are biased and not representations of reality, but really imaginary creative constructions in our minds. They just happen to be synchronized by the fact that we live in the same world.

if subjectivity is this interaction between sensation and imagination, what do I actually mean by imagination?

James Hayes

Jackson 2Bears

Organizing Creative Labour

In this conversation Tim Maughan chats with us about digital infrastructure, the role of organized labour in the creative landscape, and the DEL project Artwork_Local404. Join us, as we discuss technology and capitalism, the benefits of organizing, and what form collective action might take. Maughan also talks about how we need to rethink many of the platforms of tools of the digital world as public infrastructure: this may change how we understand what the government could do with them.