This website serves as a public record for a reading group on art and algorithms being held this fall (2018) for the Columbia community. We are looking to recruit a diverse set of students to discuss and debate the technical and critical issues surrounding algorithms that generate art. There is no leader or instructor; instead we will learn from each other. The reading group will consist of approximately 15 advanced undergraduates and graduate students.

The reading group will meet five times on the Morningside campus in the evening during the fall semester. Our activities will culminate in a public symposium to be held at Columbia in December 2018, featuring short presentations by participants, a discussion, and a keynote speaker.

By reading around both the technical details and debates involving algorithms that generate art—text, audio (music), image, and video—we will learn how the growing body of literature on critical algorithm studies can be improved using the specialist knowledge from our respective disciplines.

Dinner will be provided at each meeting. Notes from the reading group will eventually form part of a publicly accessible website hosting a record of the group’s activities.

Lightweight Code of Conduct

Codes of conduct can be useful when creating intentional learning communities. Here is ours.

Inspired by codes of conduct from Code Societies, SFPC, and the Recurse Center.

  • Please be respectful of each others’ time by being on time.
  • Some people tend to talk a lot and some people don’t; if you tend to talk a lot challenge yourself to listen more and if you tend to talk less challenge yourself to talk more. In both cases, embrace awkward silences.
  • Don’t act surprised when people say or indicate they don’t know something, e.g. “You don’t know who RMS is?!” We’re here to learn from each other, not put each other down for our differences.

These Principles of Conversation from Andrew Zolli are a also a useful guiding compass:

  • together we know more
  • be tough on ideas gentle on people
  • avoid jargon
  • threads beat points
  • proceed with generosity