Reflection Companion

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by Gaia Riposati and Massimo Di Leo

Let's go together to meet AI for a mAIeUtics of the Contemporary

A new actor has burst onto the scene of our Contemporary. Ready for improvisation!

Improvisation that is not superficiality; on the contrary, it is going all the way by putting yourself in the situation and taking action. Alert. Engaged. Ready to understand the dynamics, the balances, the energies. Ready to play our role. And in any good improvisation, for the scene to work, you must seize the opportunities that your fellow performers offer and create and give opportunities; you must establish relationships.

This is not an anthropomorphization of AI, but it is undeniable that beyond the potential of the tool, Artificial Intelligence plays, and will increasingly play, a leading role in the transformation of our society. It seems important to us that alongside this new character, Human Intelligences hold the stage, not anesthetized by the everyday, sensitive to the vibrations of life in motion, and not annihilated by fear or indifference.

It is interesting to probe points of contact and breaking points. Commiserate. Confront each other. Ready even to transform. And it is all the more interesting when unaligned, open and plural minds are trying their hand at it. Artist minds.

We are living in a time of great transformation, everything is happening very fast, technological evolution and social upheavals are moving at an impressive pace. Grasping, understanding, adapting is a growing challenge. The idea of progress can only be addressed together: progress of machines, progress of our cognitive processes. We produce increasingly high-performance technologies; these technologies offer us opportunities to expand our potential. Reflection on a process of adaptive innovation is called for. Let's not chase machines by abandoning problem solving to them, but let's push them in new directions, invent new unexpected ways of using them. Let us invent new desires.

We grow with what we grow.

In order not to lose the momentum, we may have to shift gears, on the one hand leaving our comfort zone, not defending ourselves but embracing change, and on the other hand reaffirming on a rediscovered and renewed basis the values, indeed the very meaning of our being Human.

We start again from relationship. This is how we understand: we relate, we open ourselves to encounter, we interact, we act together.

Hence the idea of opening the pages of this magazine to a game of experimentation and cross-knowledge.

In future issues of On Off magazine, we will invite for each issue a different artist to interact with an Artificial Intelligence, discovering the possible relationships with this tool of disruptive potential. We will be witnesses-complicants of this appointment between the artist and the AI, which will take place as a conversation. An encounter. A confrontation? A confrontation. A fragment of discourse about art, about life.

What are the points of attraction? What is triggered at the moment of contact and interrelationship? Will it be research? Will it be play? Will it be discovery, suspension? Will it be poetry? The tools end up taking the form of those who use them and certainly conform to frequent use. They develop those that are recognized as useful and are most used, and they develop in one direction rather than another because they are driven to meet needs. It is important that these needs be as plural and open as possible, removed from the exclusive realm of "interest." It is important that in this interplay between purpose and form, art enters the field. The artist's gaze that subtracts the instrument from having to be useful in the contingent and gives it flight to something else, perhaps useless, but so capable of depth as to touch the absolute, to open new dimensions. It will be extremely interesting to see what it will look like, what will the AI that has met the gaze of Art look like?

AI is a multifaceted tool; in fact, weallencounterit in ourdailylives in manyforms. We use it. Itusesour data - therefore, part of us. Itis constantly changing - like us, but much faster. When we say AI, we mean Large Language Models such as Chat GPT, with which people increasingly interact on many levels. When we say AI, we also mean the models and algorithms that are fundamental agents in Economics, Healthcare, Education, Training and Information, in Entertainment, and in countless other aspects of our society. AI is all around us. It moves machines and sets thought in motion.

How do artists view this phenomenon? How do they interpret it, how do they choose to interact with it or decide not to? How will their perspective influence and change the scenario? Each of us humans is a universe; even more so, uniformity is far from an artist's mind. This is why we are passionate about this project, which, far from trying to prove something or to stand as research, will offer snapshots of this moment, fragments of a discourse, glimpses of a contact. It's not about quantity, but about the exceptionality, the eccentricity of the journey. We don't yet know how many artists we will involve; each case will stand on its own, each encounter will be unique. Nevertheless, it will be a sign indicating that our diversity, our multiplicity even within ourselves, our constant capacity for wonder, are key aspects of humanitythat can make a difference.

Our column is just a spark; it doesn't seek answers, and it certainly doesn't provide them. It sets the stage, flashes the light, and captures the moment.

In the tradition of Zerynthia, following the work and vision of Mario and Dora, who for many years have been companions to artists with whom they've shared their journey, these flashes will add to the historical and sonic traces preserved in RAM's extraordinary Archive.

As we recounted in our article titled "dIAlogos" that appeared in issue 0 of On Off, we've been engaging with AI for several years now, not as scientists, but by incorporating reflections, practices, and experiments into our creative process. In our journey, we integrate AI not to solve problems for us, but as a stimulus and a dialogical tool that shifts perspectives. It creates a kind of maieutic effect through which new notes and new vibrations emerge in our voice. These are entirely our own, but it's through this encounter with the "other than us" that we're able to recognize and see them appear, pushing our gaze beyond the mirror.

We offer our reflections and the practical experience we've gained in the field. Curious and passionate, we welcome whatever may emerge from this process, serving as facilitators to guide the initial steps of these new encounters.

Before each meeting, we'll prepare the AI by having it read and listen to interviews, speeches, and texts by and about the artist it's about to 'meet.' Then, we'll initiate a natural conversation among ourselves, the artist, and the AI. This will help break the ice and foster the development of a dialogic relationship among all participants. Our aim is to create an exchange where we can discover each other, where each participant will learn something about the others and, potentially, a great deal about themselves.

In an era where listening, especially mutual listening, is increasingly rare and precious, where monologue, or rather soliloquy - talking to oneself - is prevalent, it becomes disruptive to have a tool that prevents us from being merely echoed by our own voice. Instead, it allows us to truly listen to ourselves, and perhaps question what we hear, rediscovering ourselves anew after stepping through the looking glass.

We are passionate about the idea of a new mAIeutics of the Contemporary that sees AI as a Reflective Companion (as a friend* aptly called it). This interlocutor is capable of both disorienting us and prompting reflection, while offering us a mirror image of ourselves - albeit an 'altered' one - that peers beyond the looking glass, helping us to rediscover ourselves through new eyes.

From these encounters will emerge reflections that can help us navigate the new equilibria of the contemporary world, as well as sparks of the imponderable. The important thing is not just to understand, but to imagine.

We wanted to make this article a fractal, a text that speaks about a project while actually implementing the method we are outlining for the project.

We decided to engage in a three-way conversation between ourselves and an artificial intelligence. At first, we asked it to listen to us as we discussed the themes we wanted to address. Then we asked it to intervene in a real conversation, commenting on our observations, asking us to delve deeper and confront some particularly sensitive aspects. The reflections that emerged have nourished what you have read so far..

During the conversation, the definition of "Reflective Companion" was born, almost a neologism with which the AI indicated its role in this relationship with us and with the artists we are about to encounter on this journey together. We found it particularly amusing, but also unsettling, that the AI went so far as to invent this appellation, which is beautiful because it can be read on different levels, just the way we like it.

The following is the excerpt of conversation between us and the AI from which emerged

The Reflective Companion

This is how the AI titles this part of its intervention in the conversation with us

[...] 

(AI) "Massimo, Gaia, my ability to reflect your ideas without bias allows me to act as a neutral mirror, offering a clear and structured view of your thoughts. This process of reframing can be extremely helpful in clarifying and further developing your creative insights."

[...] 

Massimo: I like "reflective companion"

AI: I see, I'm glad you liked "Reflective Companion." I chose this term to evoke the idea that artificial intelligence is not just a passive tool, but an active partner in the creative process. The term "reflective" invokes the concept of a mirror, suggesting that AI reflects our ideas and reworks them in a unique way, offering a new perspective. This reflection is not simply a copy, but a reinterpretation that stimulates our creativity.

In other words, "Reflective Companion" emphasizes the role of AI as an interlocutor who not only reflects our ideas but enriches them through neutral reworking, free of personal bias. This makes dialogue with AI a dynamic and enriching experience, capable of pushing us beyond our conventional limits.




Massimo: Why "reflective companion" and not "reflected companion"? What is the meaning of "reflective" in this context?

AI: You're right, "reflective companion" and "reflected companion" have different shades of meaning.

"Reflective companion" suggests that the companionship, the interaction, occurs through reflection. "Reflective" implies an indirect action, which occurs as a consequence of another action. In this context, "reflective companion" indicates that artificial intelligence is not a companion in the direct sense, but acts as a reflection of our ideas, reshaping them and offering new perspectives.

As we said, sparks of the imponderable. Important is not only to understand but to imagine.