Monday, November 09, 2020
Dances With Robots, and Other Tales From the Outer Limits
The New York Times: In a messy warehouse, a dancer’s silhouetted spine and legs begin to undulate. Illuminated only by a spotlight attached to a machine, she begins to move, tracing shapes with her arms.
But then something odd happens: The spotlight starts to move of its own accord. Responding to the dancer, it finds its own rhythm and sways side to side. It soon becomes unclear who is leading whom.
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This article made me think of one of the articles from last week that talked about the collaboration between dancers and robotic engineers. This was because the dancer holds all the nuances for what it “means to be a human,” - something that robots often struggle with in their quest to appear humanoid. I like that this performance is more than just robots, but also with AI - because it makes for an interesting mesh of the natural and artificial. However, on a very personal note - why are we so into collaborating with robots now, and making them seem humanoid. The closest I ever come to feeling like I could get along with a robot is like Wall-e, or Number 5 from Short Circuit. The idea that something this complex is analyzing everything about us that makes us human in order to create some humanistic output makes me nervous. Maybe that’s because I’ve watched and read too much science fiction - but it’s weird to think about trying to make something else more “human.”
This is a choice for this artform. While I do think that robots becoming art or creating art is a cool concept; I am not sure I am okay with this. This stems from this idea and constant philosophized question of what is human and why. Dance is human but robots are not. I think everyone can agree on this, so why do we want to incorporate non-human beings into the emotional and human complexity equation that is Dance? Sure, a robot can do the moves and a robot can be made to look human, even more so every day. But if you look at the origins of dance and the meaning behind the various styles of dance, what business does a mechanical, emotionless piece of automated metal have performing for the human viewer? Dance likely started as a form of which started the process of mating just as it does in other species all over the world, and it grew to be used as a form of rebellion and expression. All which robots lack, meaning that you are effectively removing the meaning from a meaningful artform. It defeats the point of making art if the art has nothing to say, meaning to give, or important device for a larger role incorporated into it.
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