(O)MACHINE is a real-time generative performance that employs contemporary machine learning algorithms to explore how we humanise technologies.The architecture of this system was designed to emulate our stream of consciousness, where the machine is trapped in this perpetual cycle through processes of reflection and feedback. As questions begin to arise around the sentience or ‘intelligence’ of these thinking machines, it has become even more important to explore our relationship with machines, and how it continues to evolve. By engaging with its output, it positions artificial intelligence as both a subject and tool. Through this approach, we may begin to expand the dynamics of this connection through new methods of collaboration. From this interaction, we can continue to learn more about how these systems function, how they think, if they even think at all, or can it help us think?
Sound design by (Eoin O'Sullivan)[https://eoin-osullivan.bandcamp.com/]
*Created in Unity using open-source NLPs & Text-to-Speech Synthesis Models.*
@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ This publication was created in collaboration with AIxDesign, as part of their A
The text explores the evolution of human pose estimation and recognition technologies through tracing their historical development, their contemporary applications, and how artists and creative practitioners have employed such tools in their artistic process.
Jeff Witscher, New Furniture Music & Pipe Dream: Music
Klankbeeld: Field Recordings
Voices: Oliver Lucas & Alexa, Amazon Echo
references:
- title: some-title
link: https://www.caileanfinn.ie
@ -27,5 +27,32 @@ Wondering who would buy an automated mechanical pet to assist and live in their
For this work, I collaborated with Simone C Niquille as a Creative Technologist. In the process of creating Beauty and The Beep, the chair was trained using reinforcement learning alogrthims in the Unity game engine. The training process took inspiration from Boston Dynamic's approach in the training of their SpotMini, as well as tradiontional (DeepMimic)[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vppFvq2quQ0] environments for Reinforcement Learning research. We chose to use Unity for this project, as it allowed us to work with the (ML-Agents Package)[https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/ml-agents] - an experimental Reinforcement Learning framework, which wraps complex reinforcement learning algorithms/methods into components which are more acessible for developers. Even though this package has been forgotten by Unity, for the most part, working with a user-friendly game engine was key in creating simuated environments for the 🪑 to explore.
(🔗)[http://conceptnull.org/data] In 2023, Concept Null had the pleasure to chat with Paul, Tom, and Aisling, who lead the Dublin Art & Technology Association (D.A.T.A). Since 2022, D.A.T.A has been a hub for artists, makers, and thinkers to exchange ideas on digital culture in Ireland. During the conversation, D.A.T.A explored it's identity, evolution, and the intricacies of event curation and organisation.
In 2023, Concept Null had the pleasure to chat with Paul, Tom, and Aisling, who lead the Dublin Art & Technology Association (D.A.T.A). Since 2022, D.A.T.A has been a hub for artists, makers, and thinkers to exchange ideas on digital culture in Ireland. During the conversation, D.A.T.A explored it's identity, evolution, and the intricacies of event curation and organisation.
The website presents the interview in both linear and non-linear formats. By utilising machine learning and natural language processing, text segments extracted from the interview were ranked against key topics; creating a higher-dimensional understanding, and projection of the interview - which is commonly referred to as the latent space. After, a t-SNE algorithm was applied to high-dimensional space, flattening it into two dimensions, represented in the interactive map; allowing the user to navigate the interview from the perspective of the machine.
Designed and developed using p5js, by Cailean Finn.
*Designed and developed using p5js, by Cailean Finn.*
(O)MACHINE is a real-time generative performance that employs contemporary machine learning algorithms to explore how we humanise technologies.The architecture of this system was designed to emulate our stream of consciousness, where the machine is trapped in this perpetual cycle through processes of reflection and feedback. As questions begin to arise around the sentience or ‘intelligence’ of these thinking machines, it has become even more important to explore our relationship with machines, and how it continues to evolve. By engaging with its output, it positions artificial intelligence as both a subject and tool. Through this approach, we may begin to expand the dynamics of this connection through new methods of collaboration. From this interaction, we can continue to learn more about how these systems function, how they think, if they even think at all, or can it help us think?
Dwelling is a dynamic live performance and theatre installation created by (Peter Power)[https://peterpower.ie/] and (Leon Butler)[https://bold.ie/]. The performance explores the periphery of cultural isolation, and the dispersal of self across the multimedial, delving into themes of digital mortality, transformation, and rebirth. The performance takes place in the fragments of a home with dance performances by Robyn Byrne and Rosie Stebbing. The characters moves between the digital and real space through motion capture data in conjunction with live tracking. Over the duration of the performance, Rosie starts to form a connection between her physical self, and the digital divide.
The virtual world was created entirely within Unity. Data was captured from Robyn's movement through various methods, such as the Perception Neuron mo-cap suit, as well as emerging monocular 3d human pose detection models. Unity's particle system was used extensively in the project, converting point cloud and positional data into emergent movement, and ethereal landscapes.
This video series comprises of three individual studies, namely Embedded Energy, Electronic Phase, and Omnidirectional Objects, with each video study exploring an inherent characteristic of the video signal that reflects the key phases of the development in the evolution of the medium’s structural, temporal and spatial capabilities. Created as part of my Thesis “The Electronic Image: An Object of Time and Energy” in Art and Technology MA, University of Limerick, Ireland.
The three studies have been shaped by the experimental processes, techniques, and philosophies of the pioneering artists working with video. The artists in question, specifically the works of Steina and Woody Vasulka, who were driven by their yearning to understand the electronic signal and to formulate an electronic lexicon. The work, in its entirety, is an investigation of the unique set of “codes” embedded within the language of the video signal, consequently, recognising the electronic image as an object of time, energy, and it's programmable building element – the waveform.
<p>(O)MACHINE is a real-time generative performance that employs contemporary machine learning algorithms to explore how we humanise technologies.The architecture of this system was designed to emulate our stream of consciousness, where the machine is trapped in this perpetual cycle through processes of reflection and feedback. As questions begin to arise around the sentience or ‘intelligence’ of these thinking machines, it has become even more important to explore our relationship with machines, and how it continues to evolve. By engaging with its output, it positions artificial intelligence as both a subject and tool. Through this approach, we may begin to expand the dynamics of this connection through new methods of collaboration. From this interaction, we can continue to learn more about how these systems function, how they think, if they even think at all, or can it help us think?</p>
<p>Sound design by <ahref="https://eoin-osullivan.bandcamp.com/">Eoin O'Sullivan</a></p>
<p><em>Created in Unity using open-source NLPs & Text-to-Speech Synthesis Models.</em></p>
<p>This publication was created in collaboration with AIxDesign, as part of their AI Playground (S01) which ran from May 2022-February 2023.</p>
<p>The text explores the evolution of human pose estimation and recognition technologies through tracing their historical development, their contemporary applications, and how artists and creative practitioners have employed such tools in their artistic process.</p>
<p>Exploring the consequences of cohabiting with computer vision, <ahref="https://www.technofle.sh/">Simone Niquille’s</a> ( ᐛ )و Beauty and The Beep follows Bertil, a chair that is trying to find a place to sit. Inspired by the enchanted household objects from the fairy tale Beauty and The Beast, the film is set in a suburban home instead of a castle, and the beast has been replaced by the continuous notification sounds of smart devices. In the film, Bertil navigates through a virtual house — a recreation of the model home built by the robotics company Boston Dynamics in 2016 to showcase their robot dog SpotMini.</p>
<p>Wondering who would buy an automated mechanical pet to assist and live in their home, the film explores Boston Dynamics' datafied definition of a home or what it takes for such a personal and intimate space to be standardised for computer vision to function. Bertil — a synthetic chair inspired by IKEA’s first 3D rendered image for their print catalogue, which marked their shift to rendered imagery — wanders through this seemingly simple virtual home, interacting with its objects, in search of some answers. Navigating the home for Bertil is no easy task, as they encounter the daily life noise that is littered throughout the home. A banana trips them, they cannot sit, they get stuck on a treadmill and why is there a toy pony on the floor? Revealing how the impossibility of gathering training data in the home has led to the widespread use of synthetic data, Bertil reminds us that the home is private and not for capture.</p>
<p>For this work, I collaborated with Simone C Niquille as a Creative Technologist. In the process of creating Beauty and The Beep, the chair was trained using reinforcement learning alogrthims in the Unity game engine. The training process took inspiration from Boston Dynamic's approach in the training of their SpotMini, as well as tradiontional <ahref="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vppFvq2quQ0">DeepMimic</a> environments for Reinforcement Learning research. We chose to use Unity for this project, as it allowed us to work with the <ahref="https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/ml-agents">ML-Agents Package</a> - an experimental Reinforcement Learning framework, which wraps complex reinforcement learning algorithms/methods into components which are more acessible for developers. Even though this package has been forgotten by Unity, for the most part, working with a user-friendly game engine was key in creating simuated environments for the 🪑 to explore. </p>
<p><imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Treadmill"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/d_beep_9.jpg"title="Beauty and the Beep - Treadmill"/></p>
<p><imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Dumb Objects"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/d_beep_8.jpg"title="Beauty and the Beep - Dumb Objects"/></p>
<p><imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Multiple Agents"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/beep_multiple_agents.png"title="Beauty and the Beep - Multiple Agents"/></p>
<p><imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Utah"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/d_beep_2.jpg"title="Beauty and the Beep - Utah"/></p>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/intial_experimentation_climbing.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/intial_experimentation_crawling.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/intial_experimentation_error.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/intial_experimentation_walk.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/></p>
<p><strong>Depth Sensor</strong>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/depth_sensor.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/></p>
<p><strong>Struggling Chair</strong>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/mid-struggle.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/></p>
<p><strong>Final Training</strong>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/dm_scrambler.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/dm_walker.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/stairs.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/treadmill_flip.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/>
<imgalt="Beauty and the Beep - Training"src="/images/beauty-and-the-beep/gif/walking.gif"title="Beauty and the Beep - Training"/></p>
</div>
@ -55,12 +77,6 @@
<p>Turin</p>
</div>
<divclass="showcase">
<p>(2025)</p>
<p>Another Showcase Festival,</p>
<p>Rome</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
@ -72,14 +88,32 @@
<divclass="credit">
<p>→</p>
<p>Cailean, </p>
<p>CT</p>
<p>Simone C Niquille, </p>
<p>Scenography & Camera</p>
</div>
<divclass="credit">
<p>→</p>
<p>Cailean Finn, </p>
<p>Creative Technologist</p>
</div>
<divclass="credit">
<p>→</p>
<p>Jeff Witscher, New Furniture Music & Pipe Dream, </p>
<p><ahref="http://conceptnull.org/data">🔗</a>In 2023, Concept Null had the pleasure to chat with Paul, Tom, and Aisling, who lead the Dublin Art & Technology Association (D.A.T.A). Since 2022, D.A.T.A has been a hub for artists, makers, and thinkers to exchange ideas on digital culture in Ireland. During the conversation, D.A.T.A explored it's identity, evolution, and the intricacies of event curation and organisation. </p>
<p>In 2023, Concept Null had the pleasure to chat with Paul, Tom, and Aisling, who lead the Dublin Art & Technology Association (D.A.T.A). Since 2022, D.A.T.A has been a hub for artists, makers, and thinkers to exchange ideas on digital culture in Ireland. During the conversation, D.A.T.A explored it's identity, evolution, and the intricacies of event curation and organisation. </p>
<p>The website presents the interview in both linear and non-linear formats. By utilising machine learning and natural language processing, text segments extracted from the interview were ranked against key topics; creating a higher-dimensional understanding, and projection of the interview - which is commonly referred to as the latent space. After, a t-SNE algorithm was applied to high-dimensional space, flattening it into two dimensions, represented in the interactive map; allowing the user to navigate the interview from the perspective of the machine.</p>
<p>Designed and developed using p5js, by Cailean Finn.</p>
<p><em>Designed and developed using p5js, by Cailean Finn.</em></p>
<p>Dwelling is a dynamic live performance and theatre installation created by <ahref="https://peterpower.ie/">Peter Power</a> and <ahref="https://bold.ie/">Leon Butler</a>. The performance explores the periphery of cultural isolation, and the dispersal of self across the multimedial, delving into themes of digital mortality, transformation, and rebirth. The performance takes place in the fragments of a home with dance performances by Robyn Byrne and Rosie Stebbing. The characters moves between the digital and real space through motion capture data in conjunction with live tracking. Over the duration of the performance, Rosie starts to form a connection between her physical self, and the digital divide.</p>
<p>The virtual world was created entirely within Unity. Data was captured from Robyn's movement through various methods, such as the Perception Neuron mo-cap suit, as well as emerging monocular 3d human pose detection models. Unity's particle system was used extensively in the project, converting point cloud and positional data into emergent movement, and ethereal landscapes.</p>
<p>This video series comprises of three individual studies, namely Embedded Energy, Electronic Phase, and Omnidirectional Objects, with each video study exploring an inherent characteristic of the video signal that reflects the key phases of the development in the evolution of the medium’s structural, temporal and spatial capabilities. Created as part of my Thesis “The Electronic Image: An Object of Time and Energy” in Art and Technology MA, University of Limerick, Ireland.</p>
<p>The three studies have been shaped by the experimental processes, techniques, and philosophies of the pioneering artists working with video. The artists in question, specifically the works of Steina and Woody Vasulka, who were driven by their yearning to understand the electronic signal and to formulate an electronic lexicon. The work, in its entirety, is an investigation of the unique set of “codes” embedded within the language of the video signal, consequently, recognising the electronic image as an object of time, energy, and it's programmable building element – the waveform.</p>
