A lecture by Dr. Vincent Lostanlen, a scientist at CNRS, the French national center for scientific research: "Sound synthesis with computers is often described as a Turing test or “imitation game”. In this context, a passing test is regarded by some as evidence of machine intelligence and by others as damage to human musicianship. Yet, both sides agree to judge synthesizers on a perceptual scale from fake to real. My hypothesis rejects this premise and borrows from philosopher Clément Rosset’s to affirm (1) the reality of all music, (2) the infidelity of all audio data, and (3) the impossibility of strictly repeating sensations. What is at stake in deep generative models is not to deny reality via illusion but to cultivate imagination as “function of the unreal” (Bachelard); i.e., a precise aesthetic grip on reality. Meanwhile, I insists that digital music machines are real objects within real human societies: their performance on imitation games should not exonerate us from studying their social and ecological impact."
The number of participants is limited -> please RSVP by 13.12.2024 by e-mail:
*The lecture will be held in English.