Along with my concerns over recommendation algorithms and cultural homogeneity, the central element in this three part piece, the Grotto, reflects an alternative take on Plato’s cave of shadows. I often find myself reimaging the writings that have managed to be passed down over time. In my versions, I ponder the alternatives that were undoubtedly envisioned and told concurrently with the now famous ones — why do some versions find footing while others are lost or absorbed? I often consider the past authors of these ideas and imagine them like myself ; if one is not obsessed with fame, not concerned with vast influence, but instead feels a satisfaction and purpose in a deep, personal connection, then virality may never come. If you are not starving to be heard, high on power-acquisition, then you may sit in conversation with your friends, exploring the critical thoughts of the human condition and inspiring those around you in a close-knit community, but your exact words will never be recorded for posterity or attributed to your name (meaningless anyway).
It is this relatable person who I reincarnate and attempt to explore across time. Imagine not Plato and his longwinded rants, but his sister, Potone, brilliant and caring, having inspired his thoughts, inspired the thoughts of her friends and family, sitting not in a dark and meaningless cave, but in a vibrant, interconnected grotto, still recognizing the unseeable, untouchable, unsensible even, vast experience that surrounds us, without the damning pessimism of one suffering bitter loneliness, shoveling recognition in like straw stuffing to feel complete.
Having a bachelors degree in CS, a masters in interactive programming, and working in software development, I work with npc agents and ML algorithms for data analytics quite frequently. As a user of social media and communication technologies, I am also highly influenced by big data and AI algorithms for marketing and consumerism.
As such, I have worked with various artificial intelligence algorithms and intersections with games, long before the generative AI big tech hype. Even so, it became quite obvious that social media and capitalist demand in particular, were relying on big data and ML to both find the most financially efficient groups of potential consumers possible while also expounding the virtues of complete customization to address your true individuality. Sadly, neither goal benefits society, meaningful social interaction, or the creative human — aka every human. Recommendation algorithms have always been plagued by opposing interests, lack of transparency, and inherent, damning biases.
As far back as Aimona (the app I developed based on Tindr, but for pieces of renowned art), I have felt raised concerns for cultural homogeneity and experience-isolation inherent in a system that claims to ‘learn’ about you and curate whole life experiences just for you based on this ‘learning.’ The problem is, this is a closed system, a black box, and the main proponents for its success have no moral integrity, lack oversight, and have a singular goal incompatible with an individual’s needs.
=== SPOILER === materials & process === SPOILER ===
For “Allegory of Potone, the Basilisk’s, Grotto,” a generative adversarial network model was trained with a target video filter series consisting of surveillance, security, and automated camera captures in order to create an output of similar style for video from divergent sources. The shadow stream is updated with DLC [downloadable content], while one of its two voices allows for tone to be hand selected with the turn of the subterranean platform below the grotto.
For “Generative {Auspicious} Adversarial Network” and “Semi {Sinister} Supervised Learning Algorithm,” Ulm explores the seemingly inconsistent nature of the interactions between humans and AI. One one level, they are mapped one to millions, yet on another, they are highly personalized, individualized relationships. In this body of work, Ulm explores both the process of creating visuals through AI collaboration, as well as the power of binaural audio and face to face communication in facilitating intimacy.
