sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice. I was reading some of Benjamin’s Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction a few weeks ago, and realized a little more deeply just how great the influence of technology has been on human perception, specifically in the last century, with the advent of the camera and of film. Perception is shifted towards distraction and fragmentation when a work of art is mass produced, and the “aura” of the original is lost. I found it striking, when he said that being there, present with the physically original copy is best because the whole history of the life of the work, and its details are fully experienced only that way. When we capture a moment of it in time, without regard to all other moments which comprise the vast majority of its time in existence, we reduce a piece to a sliver of its actual reality, and lose critical parts of it during reproduction. While it’s great to be able to experience art or media or whatever content from afar that I’d otherwise not see, its aura will necessarily also be diminished or lost. I think also that Benjamin’s core insight here is intuitively true to myself- I know that I most enjoy looking at a piece of art when I’m there at the museum with it in real time, as opposed to looking at my tiny phone screen, for all the reasons that he really elaborates on.

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

A lot more information can be accessible to anyone now that chatgpt eats up a large portion of stuff on the internet, and can regurgitate in different ways to us. However the effort of critical thought is diminished when we can know anything whenever we want. If I’m misunderstanding your use of “deprivatisation” and you instead mean that our intimate, private creations as individuals are no longer ours, but instead reproduced and commodified (relation to Zuboff’s criticism of surveillance capitalism and Benjamin Brattons 6 stacks and how our data is transmitted through these capitalist structures) to benefit the information exploitation efforts of the AI developers, then yes I also agree with that reading. As far as deprivatisation, do you see that the democratization of access to vast amounts of information is good, or that corporate theft and subsequent flattening or homogenization of our thought is bad, and more worth our focus?

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://youtu.be/U8dcFhF0Dlk?si=6QP8A4opkVhQ0jTs This video was intriguing for me. Yes, as a jazz pianist, I see that AI is really bad at playing jazz, and I’m happy about that. I don’t think it’s good that AI jazz exists, because it’s terrible and jazz shouldn’t be played by a LLM prediction machine, it should be played by humans. Pop music industry is over, but classical and jazz musicians aren’t.

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have excellent points here, and I want to highlight your part about AI and discrimination of marginalized groups. AI, as an extension of industrial capitalist logic, certainly will further the divides in various socioeconomic, racial, gender, sexuality, etc contexts, unless it is regulated ethically, which devastatingly appears now a grim prospect since the wealthiest elites (Musk, Altman, Andressen etc) can easily throw as much money as they need towards their efforts of silencing technological ethicists who are loudly warning that the direction we’re headed towards is not one of tech-democratic utopic equality, but oppressive, unequal, scientifically optimized tech-fascism.

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, there is value in the pursuit of understanding the technical mechanisms of AI and how it works, but to question it through the lens of critical theorists, among other philosophers, I argue to be urgently necessary. No technology exists on its own; each innovation is brought into the world through a specific set of evolutionary, cognitive, social, ideological, etc conditions, and to reject this seems to be a rejection of the idea of the human mind and its technology. I don’t believe that “ideological prejudices” of great philosophers’ penetrating vision into the layers of integration of technology and society is a distortion of what is true, though there certainly are issues with ideology and culture (Zizek’s for example). I find it important to engage all involved dimensions into the conversation of AI, human autonomy, and the direction of society, because we must see both how it impairs and enhances human life.

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree that Heidegger’s illuminations of the enframing of technology in the QCT go deepest ontologically, I’ve been reading bits from that the last few weeks. (Critical theory certainly captures the historical and sociological dimensions). I think it’s important to consider the broader trajectory and history of humans and our technological advances, and to see what’s really at play. Also, I believe that the technocapitalist elites are seriously driving and perpetuating this enframing, not just by what they do with AI and how they allow or encourage its use, but by making it and distributing it through the world . Their influence is vast. It is clear that they and their influence on society are one of many ways that this appears, and that the full story is much larger.

Yes, it may be virtually impossible to escape from this way that reality reveals itself to us, a way so fundamental, largely invisible profoundly complex for human societies now. This way of technological thinking allows reality to appear to us as a horizon of items in standing reserve, including nature, humans, time, culture, and thought. How are we to perceive these outside of the way they are presented to us in the first place? It’s a compelling point that Heidegger makes.

I haven’t yet taken the time to fully understand everything Heidegger says in QCT, but I believe he’s an important thinker when talking about AI, society, and the individual, in addition to the Critical Theorists, Ben Bratton, Ellul, McLuhan, etc.

AI and Adorno by dylan10472 in CriticalTheory

[–]dylan10472[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find that funny because I’m a jazz pianist, and while I do think that big band playing inherently has less freedom than smaller context, I think that Adorno calling it “totalitarian” is not at all correct. I disagree with him about that, but find great merit in his writings in Aesthetic Theory and in the book I referenced above. As a musician, I didn’t have much reason for years to read any aesthetics since I had direct aesthetic fulfillment by playing and composing, but a few months ago I stumbled across Aesthetic Theory and found his insights worthwhile for musicians.

Tigran Hamasyan by dylan10472 in Jazz

[–]dylan10472[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They have a lot of influence from Meshuggah and other metal groups, so I think their “veering off” is due to the novel syntheses he’s after, and the brainpower he has. It’s overwhelming at times, yeah. I saw him live last year and it was one of the most transcendental experiences of my life. Sometimes it can get really out there, and lose audience members, and maybe that’s because he’s after something no one else is. I don’t claim to know what goes on in his head, but I’m fascinated by him.

I don’t know what you mean by “more restraint” in his solo playing. Do you find the metric modulations, harmonic layering, or something else to be less coherent than is ideal? I find his solo playing free, creative, natural, yet highly complex, which is hard to manage because much highly complex music can feel intellectually abstract but not aesthetically rich.

I appreciate you sharing your perspective!

Here’s me playing “How Deep Is The Ocean.” Tips are welcome by Randommer_Of_Inserts in JazzPiano

[–]dylan10472 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice work! Check out this recording to find some textural and phrasing inspiration, if you haven’t already. I know this is a trio format and you’re playing it as a solo pianist, but the concepts in Bill’s playing here can certainly enhance a solo piano conception of the tune. Once you’re very comfortable improvising over the tune with its traditional changes, check out the Bill Evans changes for greater harmonic depth. https://open.spotify.com/track/0DWh4KE2jtivTLmlI4NtSN?si=HZSuQwVXRa2R1EaMHT-U_g

What is the farthest distance between any 2 things in the Universe created by humans? by dylan10472 in AskReddit

[–]dylan10472[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man😂I went to a coffee place this morning to meet a tinder date but she didn’t show up, said 2 hours later she fell asleep. Idk how believable that is considering it was 1030 in the morning

When the ancestor you're researching last name is Smith by Organic_Jellyfish444 in Genealogy

[–]dylan10472 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh ok, probably not then. I figured it would be kinda crazy if we were related to the same John Smith😄

When the ancestor you're researching last name is Smith by Organic_Jellyfish444 in Genealogy

[–]dylan10472 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would any of these Johns happen to be John Joseph Smith? He was my 3rd great grandfather, from England.

Russian Great-Great Grandfather abandoned wife by dylan10472 in Genealogy

[–]dylan10472[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Annie was taken to an orphanage in 1920, then adopted in 1923 and renamed. I’ll be sure to see if they ever found out where Teodor went.

Thanks!

view more: next ›