Week 3: Robotics + Art

This week the professor talked about the combination of art and robotics. She discussed the influence of art in the context of the Industrial Revolution. I like the example she mentioned in the lecture recording of Ford. Henry Ford first created automobile assembly lines and revolutionarily changed the way factory production worked by increasing efficiency. This resonated with what I read from Walter Benjamin’s work and the replication of automobile’ art (Benjamin). The assembly line exploited the workers and the replicated production of vehicles changed workers' attitude to car-making.  

Picture 1 Ford’s Assembly line (Ford Media)


Industrial revolutions are closely related to changes and replacements and art forms also evolved as technology developed (Mokhtar 153).  In 2019, the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation launched a robotic art program, inviting robotic artists to sit together with robotic engineers at a forum and discuss the future of robotics (St-Onge). 


The professor mentioned a Japanese anime Astro Boy, a great example combining art and robotics. As a kid growing up in East Asia, this Japanese anime is my first touch with robotics in an expression of visual anime art. Later on an American movie, The Big Hero 6 brought up Baymax, another robot that helps the characters in a Japanese context. The films showed how the general public was willing to accept how robots were entering our society and even our households. A study showed that fictional robots are more intelligent and almost difficult to realize in the short term due to difficulties in artificial intelligence (Saffari). We can also find out that robots built in the context of Japan and other Asian countries tend to be friendly and gentle, while Western robotic films like to think of the frightening possibilities of humans not being able to take full control of robotics and artificial intelligence.


Picture 2: Astro Boy (Imagi Animation Studios)    Picture 3: Baymax (Walt Disney)


As artificial intelligence has become a heated topic, it seems to be very possible that AI might be a key driver for the next industrial revolution (Newton). With more and more artists starting to use artificial intelligence in the creation of artwork, I’m looking forward to a generational art revolution led by AI artists.


Work Cited: 

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A. (James Amery) Underwood. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction  / Walter Benjamin ; Translated by J.A. Underwood. Penguin, 2008.

Imagi Animation Studios. “Astro Boy”. April 17, 2024, imdb.com,  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375568/

Mokhtar, Mumtaz, et al. “Art throughout the Industrial Revolution and Art Framework for the Industrial Revolution 4.0.” Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, vol. 7, no. SI7, 2022, pp. 149–54, https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7iSI7.3776.

Newton, Alexis, and Kaustubh Dhole. “Is AI Art Another Industrial Revolution in the Making?” arXiv (Cornell University), 2023, https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2301.05133.

Saffari, Ehsan, et al. “‘Does Cinema Form the Future of Robotics?’: A Survey on Fictional Robots in Sci-Fi Movies.” SN Applied Sciences, vol. 3, no. 6, 2021, pp. 655–13, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-021-04653-x.

St-Onge, David. “Robotic Art Comes to the Engineering Community [Art and Robotics].” IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol. 26, no. 3, 2019, pp. 103–04, https://doi.org/10.1109/mra.2019.2927198.

Walt Disney. “Baymax.” April 17, 2024, robots.fandom.com, https://bighero6.fandom.com/wiki/Baymax


Comments

  1. Zixin ZhengApril 18, 2024 at 8:42 PM

    Hi Amy, I enjoyed reading your blog post on robotics and art in the context of the industrial revolution. I like how you pointed out that the industrial revolution is linked to the transformation and evolution of art alongside technological advancements. It's fascinating to learn how innovation in one field can influence and shape creative expression in another and how everything is interconnected. Your analysis of the contrasting portrayal of robots in Asian cultures compared to Western societies also offers valuable insights into cultural attitudes toward technology and artificial intelligence, showcasing how people respond to the integration of robots into our society. I would say, as a child, Japanese anime like Doraemon, with its imaginative worlds and futuristic gadgets, definitely captivated my imagination and sparked my curiosity about the potential of technology to influence and shape our future. Overall, your blog has led me to think about the endless possibilities of artwork that can incorporate technology as it continues to advance.

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