Creative AI and Musicking Robots

Abstract

This article discusses the creative and technical approaches in a performative robot project called “Embodied Musicking Robots” (2018–present). The core approach of this project is human-centered AI (HC-AI) which focuses on the design, development, and deployment of intelligent systems that cooperate with humans in real time in a “deep and meaningful way.”1 This project applies this goal as a central philosophy from which the concepts of creative AI and experiential learning are developed. At the center of this discussion is the articulation of a shift in thinking of what constitutes creative AI and new HC-AI forms of computational learning from inside the flow of the shared experience between robots and humans. The central case study (EMRv1) investigates the technical solutions and artistic potential of AI-driven robots co-creating with an improvising human musician (the author) in real time. This project is ongoing, currently at v4, with limited conclusions; other than this, the approach can be felt to be cooperative but requires further investigation.