I have written on artificial intelligence in the past, but writing this book is the first chance I have had to immerse myself totally in its unique world, a rich blend of genius, arcana, and exotica.
In the course of my work, I’ve had the good fortune to meet many researchers who focus on the question of what it means for machines to create art, literature, and music. My interviews with them form the core of this book. They kindly took time out of their busy schedules and generously replied to my follow-up questions. Our interviews sometimes turned to highly interesting nonlinear conversations on de rerum natura. I am boundlessly grateful to all of them. They have kindly shared their expertise, but all mistakes and misinterpretations are mine.
In particular, I would like to express my thanks to Jason Freidenfelds, senior PR manager at Google, for arranging interviews; to Damien Henry, technical program manager at the Google Institute in Paris, for his hospitality and introductions at Google; to Peter Weibel, CEO of ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, for sharing his insider knowledge of the world of AI; and to Gerfried Stocker, artistic director at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria, and his team, for their help in smoothing the way to on-site interviews. It is a pleasure also to acknowledge conversations with Mike Brady, at the University of Oxford, and Tod Machover, at the MIT Media Lab. I am indebted to John Collins for introducing me into The Real Time Club, affording me the opportunity to meet a large cross section of the AI community.
In the end I had a virtual cornucopia of interviews with cutting-edge artists, writers and musicians who create their work with machines. Alas, publishing restrictions regarding manuscript length and duplication resulted in excluding some of them. I have constructed a website that, among other things, includes these highly interesting works.
I thank my agent Jaime Marshall for believing in the book and finding a home for it at MIT Press. Thanks also to all at A.M. Heath for dealing with the business side of things.
Huge thanks to my editor at MIT Press, Marie Lufkin Lee, and to Stephanie Cohen, assistant acquisitions editor, for their invaluable advice, criticism, and help in the production process. I am grateful to Marie Lufkin Lee and two anonymous reviewers for their perceptive comments, and I also appreciate the hard work and support of everyone at MIT Press including Kathleen A. Caruso, Susan L. Clark, Heather L. Goss, Erin M. Hasley, Jessica Pellien, Melinda Rankin, Sean M. Reilly, and the rest of the editing, design, and publicity teams.
As ever, I am indebted to my wife, Lesley, a major author of fiction and nonfiction, as well as a teacher of creative writing. Besides offering support, encouragement, and love and at times acting as a sounding board, she played an important editorial role in improving a book that covers a wide swathe of material in a rapidly developing field, and for over fifteen years she has also improved my life immeasurably.