What happens when AI is used as a tool for design and creativity in general. Is the AI creative by association? Does it deserve credit for creating?
In a recent project titled Infinite Loop, Silvia Weidenbach (award winning Jeweller and lectured at Glasgow School of Art) fed 3000 rings to an AI program, then after many days using machine learning the AI produced a ring of its own. The antique gold and diamond ornate rings age back centuries ago and were collected from the archives of museums in Munich and Switzerland.
The results are a rings devoid of mass and sense, the AI does not recognise material or scale so in learning what a ring is at first the product is ghostly and unknown in nature. Silvia took the outcome of the machine learning and developed it into a physical form to create a ring made of gemstone that appears liquid but solid, colourful and unique. Silvia used processes like 3D printing and CNC to translate digital objects into physical ones, combining modern making processes with the traditional tools used in silversmithing to create jewellery. As well as this fully digital products were made to sell, a hologram and not can be bought of the ring. These digital and physical products ask the question, 'what is materiality?'
The combination of modern and traditional methods is interesting. Materials like 3D printed plastics with pearls, diamonds, silver and gold. Not a marriage that is easy to imagine but works well when held in hand. It is effective in 'creating volume without mass' the brooches and brackets are surprising light but they still have the innate qualities of beautiful jewellery. Beautiful form and shiny precious parts.
Weight and value is an interesting side point, in your brain you often associate weightiness with value, this thought initially made me question the value of Silvia's jewellery when I held it. It felt at first just like plastic bracelet. But with touching it more and inspecting its intricacies a larger appreciation for the product grew.
Ultimately, I found the modern/traditional marriage to be an effective one and the implementation of AI into traditional crafts as positive. Creating completely new types of objects that are still somewhat familiar. I am interested to see where this tool goes in the future, there have been many examples of machine learning to produce digital images and videos. Physical AI generated products could be the future, if you imagine an AI creating a car for example by combining all of the 1000s of models out there would you get the ideal car? I'd be interested to find out.
Another interesting thing that came from Silvia's talk was the practice of human adornment and what that means. It can be tattoos, clothing, jewellery but what does this mean to different people and how is its value determined. I think the value is often determined by what an item means to a person or what it symbolises. Looking at recent fast fashion trends for example, the sentimental value of things seems to be lost with no care being out into the manufacture of items and the value being added by a logo on the item and not the form, function or quality of the item itself. And at detriment to the makers, planet and consumers.
But there are other examples adornment means a huge amount, it is a mean of protest or solidarity or community or even family. It is human nature I think to want to express yourself through adornment and it is something that interests me a lot as a concept. What are we looking to achieve with what we wear? Are we looking to achieve anything or just wearing things for function. And what is it that makes us pick one t-shirt over another, do we ever make choices without feeling like an AI would?
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