Excerpt from of Change. Music and film by Nina Colosi (5:00) Premiering late 2025. Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, NYC. Choreographer, Benoit-Swan Pouffer. Dance video, Adam Larsen. Quantum codes and poetic elements co-created with ChatGPT4, and humanoid Bina48. The music is based on a restructured version of the 12-tone note system, algorithmic in nature, created by composer Arnold Schoenberg in the early 20th-century; and integrates the collaboration method of composer John Cage’s collaborations with choreographer Merce Cunningham (1950-1970s) integrating the concept of indeterminacy also found in principles of quantum mechanics.
The Artificial Intelligence-infused World
AI is rapidly expanding across industries and daily life, performing complex computations and analyses by gathering data from public datasets, user inputs, sensors, and the internet. It has the potential to transform economies, healthcare, corporations, societies, sciences, and geopolitics in ways that cannot yet be predicted, and is evolving faster than the ability to regulate and govern it. Emerging technologies like quantum computing, fusion energy, and genetic engineering will further reshape humanity in unforeseen ways. The great strength brought about by the formation of alliances among technologies, peoples and ideas around the world can create unprecedented advancements.
New AI technologies are emerging in companies around the world. Among them are: Cortical Labs based in Melbourne, Australia that refers to the technology they're developing as Actual Intelligence. They're building biological computers that put the brain into the computer rather than putting a computer in the brain, combining actual living brain cells with inorganic silicon chips. Lila Sciences in Cambridge, Mass is a start-up focused on artificial intelligence that can turbocharge scientific discovery and "build scientific superintelligence to solve humankind’s greatest challenges.”
Artificial Intelligence concepts have influenced the arts for decades, but recent breakthroughs in deep learning have dramatically expanded creative possibilities for artists. AI technologies like ChatGPT, DALL·E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, along with the introduction of updates and new creative tools, are evolving at a rapid pace. Artists are incorporating and collaborating with these technologies across all mediums. However, the use of mathematical and algorithmic principles in art has existed in cultures around the world since ancient times. (1)
Art in all eras reflects media theorist Marshall McLuhan's statement in Understanding Media (1964) that "Art as radar acts as 'an early alarm system,' enabling us to discover social and psychic targets in lots of time to prepare to cope with them. This concept of the arts as prophetic contrasts with the popular idea of them as mere self-expression." McLuhan's words relate to the AI-generated art that is showcased globally by leading professionals at cultural centers, art labs and universities. Among them are: Christiane Paul, Curator of Digital Art at the Whitney Museum, New York City; Dooeun Choi, Director of Hyundai ArtLab, Seoul; Alain Thibault, composer, Artistic Director of Elektra, Montreal; Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits, artists and Co-founders of RIXC Center for New Media Culture, Riga; Suzanne Kite, Director of the Wihanble S’a Center for Indigenous AI at Bard College, New York; and many others. The auction house Christies in New York City, has produced Augmented Intelligence, the first-ever show of AI-generated art.
Why do we equate AI with robots and machines instead of constellations, libraries, forests or mycelial networks? Why do we view AI solely as futurism instead of an accretion of histories? What if it's not an intelligence but a literacy, a new way of reading the world. What if it's not an intelligence, but an instrument--as in violin, piano, something to be played, something that sings? Instrument as in telescope, microscope, X-ray, something that reveals, magnifies, extends perception? What's artificial about the raw material of human language, labor and longing? Why do we call it invention or innovation, not evolution? -- Sasha Stiles
A roster of enthusiastic participants from across industries discussed AI’s broad impact at The Futurist:The Age of AI conference in December 2024 at IBM in New York City. There was agreement that innovative models could motivate the currently slow adaptation of AI in their fields. I believe that artworks that showcase the creative use of AI by innovative artists can serve as inspirational motivators. Howard Leiberman, a physicist, silicon valley inventor and entrepreneur, educator, and musician, understands both the business and creative worlds. He has worked within world-class innovation corporations, and is a jazz musician who has studied music at the prestigious Juilliard School. In his book Involuntary Innovator, Leiberman states that, “The potential of creatives to release positive problem-solving energy into the world is the greatest resource in the process of collaboration. It’s the only way to tackle every urgent matter of society. ... Decision-makers tend to be fairly risk-averse as, for the most part, they have power and want to keep it. Innovators look around and say things could be better, and here is what we can do about it."
What About Quantum?
An entirely new kind of computing--one that may solve problems in minutes that would take today’s supercomputers millions of years to accomplish, is being developed at IBM, Google, Microsoft and other companies. Quantum computers have potential to give answers to impossible problems in physics, chemistry, engineering and medicine, and drive scientific breakthroughs in health and well-being. It pushes the limits of knowledge with a processor that computes with the atomic forces that created the universe.
Unlike classical computers that operate with 0s and 1s, quantum computers use Q-bits (Quantum bits) that see data from all angles. It operates in extreme cold, so it is one of the coldest places in the universe, nearly 460 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, which reduces electrical resistance and protects against external vibrations.
Quantum mechanics involves phenomena like superposition and entanglement, where particles can exist in multiple states at once and their behaviors are interconnected regardless of distance. Quantum mechanics involves chance, probability, and non-linearity, creating ever-changing, non-deterministic realities which also reflects a process of art making.
Along with the awards and programs for quantum computing in the sciences and a broad range of international organizations, including The Nobel Prize in Physics given to Alain Aspect, John Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger in 2022, and the UNESCO International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in 2025, among others, there is growing global interest in how deeply intertwined technology and creative expression in art have become. This is evident through explorations of quantum technologies at international art labs, exhibitions, and programs such as The Quantum Information Center and Quantum Studio residency at the Sorbonne University, Paris; Yale Quantum Institute, New Haven; Goethe Institute Studio Quantum, Berlin, and their collaboration in the program Dreaming Quantum Futures at Somerset House, London, in partnership with ARTS at CERN.
superposition (2014) is among the quantum related works by internationally renowned electronic artist Ryoji Ikeda. The work is about the way we understand the reality of nature on an atomic scale that is inspired by the mathematical notions of quantum mechanics. Performers appear for the first time, performing as operator / conductor / observer / examiners. All the components on stage are in a state of superposition; sound, visuals, physical phenomena, mathematical concepts, human behaviour and randomness, that are constantly orchestrated and de-orchestrated simultaneously in a single performance piece. See Ryoji Ikeda's test pattern [times square] video by Streaming Museum.
Considering its evolving capability to harness atomic forces that created the universe, can quantum computing, in collaboration with other technologies and specialists, uncover solutions to global challenges that are beyond human comprehension and capabilities?
How is it that a species that has evolved to the point where it can ponder the universe and infinity still remains preoccupied with animal instincts that no longer serve it?” --Astronaut Ron Garan
How will the computational powers of these technologies process the destructive forces and cultural energies that artists have expressed throughout history and 'learn' about human consciousness and behavior?
Featured in Streaming Museum programs: Top left: Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Beheading Holofernes, c. 1620. Oil on canvas, Florence, Gallerie degli Uffizi; Zorawar Sidhu and Rob .... protests protests during pandemic2020 .; Agnes Denes, Whieatfield, .... Goya, ...... Bottom left: Zorawar Sidhu and Rob ...Refugees; James Nac=tchw......TB..... Teru Kuwayama, ,,,,,, Brek... photojournalists emvedded with Marines in Afhanistan; ; Osca Howe, indianss mascacre.
Can quantum and AI data be harnessed—free from self-interest control—to shape the future and well-being of humans and environment? Can they generate solutions to vast inequities, misguided leadership, and reimagine what governments can do and evolve its systems?
Today, the logical and effective organization of solutions to pressing problems often seems humanly impossible. For example, funding assistance for those in need could be easily secured by collecting unpaid taxes; while cutting jobs that support veterans disrupts their stability and meaningful livelihoods, shifts the financial burden to taxpayers who fund unemployment benefits. Universal Basic Income has demonstrated positive impacts on mental health, financial stability, employment, and community well-being in pilot programs. Although questions remain about its feasibility on a large scale, how to fund it, and its long-term economic effects, it's time to take a close look. The challenges—and possibilities—are immense, seemingly beyond human capabilities, and hopefully quantum and related technologies can figure it out.
Dream States in Quantum and the Arts: Imagining Possible Futures Quantum computing, the creative process of artists, and dreaming share fascinating similarities. Quantum concepts like superposition and entanglement, and the way dreams can blend different realities and ideas at once, closely mirror an artist’s creative flow. Similarly, quantum tunneling, where particles pass through barriers, reflects how dreamers and artists move between ideas or scenes without a clear path, exploring unexpected realms. Unexpected solutions and ideas can emerge from this realm of free flowing thought. Astronaut Nicole Stott has experienced quantum powers of the universe from her experiences in space and says that "the arts are the ultimate universal communicator of complex ideas" that can connect people to realities. There is a logical flow between the arts, the mechanisms of quantum and potential to imagine possible futures .
Artist and quantum physicist, Libby Heaney, highlights in her art the conceptual similarities between quantum mechanics the process of artistic creation and their relation to dreaming.
Philip K. Dick’s 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? explores themes related to the conceptual overlap between quantum computing and human dreaming. The narrative delves into the blurred lines between artificial and human consciousness, suggesting that dreaming and memory may not be exclusively human traits. The novel is the basis for Ridley Scott’s 1982 film Blade Runner, and its 2017 sequel
Humanness Injections into AI and Quantum Systems
It’s interesting to imagine future artworks made solely by Quantum and AI processes that blend combinations of humanistic elements and the creative expression of planetary data that are stored within their databanks. How would these supercomputers comprehend and transform the ideas of painting, sculpting, design, and performing arts, photography, video, digital arts—and the process of their shaping by human hands, bodies, minds, the wide range of emotions and their creative tools? Will the art data of the past inject humanness into the future, and how will it become part of the inevitable transformation of life and thought into new forms? What will the resulting supercomputed art reveal about the collective world brain? Will media theorist Marshall McLuhan's words from 1964 be relevant in the distant future as an ‘early alarm system,’ helping the evolved human form to identify and prepare for social and psychic shifts well in advance?
Featured in Streaming Museum programs: Top left: David Boring, Hong Kong, rock band; Jean Miotte, pinater, .... stule; Sara ... Shipbo artist of Peruvian Amazon; .... Manicburg rock band, NYC, Bottom left: Cedar Lake Contermporary Ballet, dacne ritual Indigenous cultures photographed by national goe explorrer Chris Rainer, classical pianist ....treakthrough; oscar howe dance ritual.
A Duet by a Classical Violinist and Quantum Particles
Cloud Chamber, A Duet for Violin and Subatomic Particles by Alexis Kirke, performed by violinist, Alina Polonskaya was developed at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, Plymouth University, UK. Kirke composed music and developed specialized software and hardware to make interactions between musician and quantum particles visible and audible. Not only did the particles influence and create sound, but the accompanying solo violin directly or indirectly influenced the particles physically. This two-way process used cosmic rays entering a glass chamber, saturated with ethanol and cooled by liquid nitrogen, making the particles in the cosmic radiation visible in real time. My Life in Quantum Computer Music by Alexis Kirke.
Energies and Entanglements in Human Arts and Quantum Processes
Lev Manovich, media historian and artist working with generative AI, has given me his views in regards to my classical music background, and the bridge between “the greatness of classical music training.” He often feels that “many people in 'digital art' today don't have much knowledge of other arts, or classical traditions, and this limits their thinking and results.”
I suggested that since he is now studying music theory that he could try some improvisational exploration of piano keyboard sounds and whatever flows out from his subconscious in the moment. I work in this way with very young piano students who are just beginning lessons and don't know all 'the rules" They sit at the piano and from what seems to be coming from a subconscious free flowing semi dream state, and with whatever energy they have inside, they throw it into the movement of their fingers, hands and arms onto the keys, and it usually comes out like Henry Cowell, Debussy, and Stravinsky, or even a jazz concept. Free dream-like thinking and reflective of quantum processes. This gestural spontaneity is similar to the creative approach of artists during the "Art L'Informal" of the post WWII period, including French artist Jean Miotte who founded Chelsea Art Museum in NYC where I was a curator of The Project Room for New Media and Performing Arts.
A Public ArtLab: Entangled and Superpositioned
A Public ArtLab, as I envisioned, would be an artistic hub within a museum, whose influence would extend beyond museum walls. In my 2015 presentation at The Future of Museum and Gallery Design conference produced by The K11 Art Foundation in Hong Kong, I suggested that artworks from the museum's collection of visual and performing arts and the Public ArtLab could be projected onto the museum’s façade and into neighborhoods, reaching people in their daily lives, including those who might never step into a museum.
Within the Public ArtLab, artists-in-residence would create works using real-world data. Today, that data would include AI and quantum information, rapidly flowing into the hands and minds of artists with access to technologists and scientists. Such human-made art, entangled and superposed with emerging technologies, would act as radar, offering society insights into reality and what lies ahead. “See what is really there. Look at it. Look at it”, in the words of American photographer Dorothea Lange (1895-1965).
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(1) These Algorithmic processes in the arts trace back to ancient times, from Egyptian geometrical alignment in pyramids to Greek Pythagorean ratios in music. Over centuries, these methods evolved through the geometric intricacies of the Arab-Islamic Golden Age, the detailed patterns in Asian textiles, traditional African fractal designs in architecture and textiles, the intricate and culturally significant patterns of indigenous art such as those by the Shipibo people, the isorhythmic motets of the Medieval period, the perspective techniques of the Renaissance, the ornamental designs of 18th-century Rococo art, and the aesthetic craftsmanship of the 19th-century decorative arts movement, culminating in 20th-century algorithmic compositions by artists like Iannis Xenakis and contemporary AI-driven digital art. This overview underscores how cultures across the globe have embraced mathematical and algorithmic principles to enrich their artistic expressions, showcasing a vast and varied legacy of creativity across different epochs and societies.”