Encroachment of robots bodes ill for art | CD Voice

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Let's put some robots out of work, shall we?

Of course, they're well suited for delicate precision work involving rocketry and medicine and a number of manufacturing tasks. And they amuse us when they roll up and greet us at the mall.

But they're also trying to weasel their way into creative roles best left to thinking, breathing, inspired human beings. 

Professor Tao Dacheng, director of the UBTECH Sydney Artificial Intelligence Centre in Australia, said recently that human intelligence "is about four categories of capabilities — perceiving, learning, reasoning and behavior"  and that the challenge of AI lies in "transferring those human capabilities to a machine".

While these words hold great promise for mass production and scientific work, note that the good professor did not mention imagining or creating as functions of intelligence. Therein lies the problem. 

It's safe to say that China's increasing passion for robotics, 3-D printing and all manner of mechanization could be on a collision course with the country's ancient cultural heritage, a treasure celebrated for centuries.

A recent Beijing television documentary featured entrepreneurs in the heart of China's ceramics country, where glorious porcelain comes to life, gushing about how their new machinery could churn out ceramics for tourists who want custom pieces on the spot. Dispensing with the precision work and patience that traditionally involves firing the ceramics for several days in kilns, they boasted that they can now do the job in a matter of hours by using — try not to laugh — a microwave. 

Or consider the exquisite jade, agate and olive nucleus carvings that have long earned Suzhou a solid reputation for intricate work that amazes. Alas, these are increasingly produced by cold, uncaring machinery, and to the trained eye of a collector, there's a world of difference. No robot or machine can match the skill of the Suzhou olive carver who, in the space of a mere few centimeters, can create a delicate landscape or a detailed boat filled with smiling, lifelike people.

What sets apart the work of human hands is that fingers execute with flair, flourish and spontaneity, the artist making creative use of the limits of the space or medium used. Even accidents create interesting twists. But "intelligent" or not, a robot or 3-D printer merely executes — without passion or inspiration. 

The Middle Kingdom's long history of artistic excellence, including painting and poetry, has given the world unsurpassed artworks and handicrafts.

So when I see robots being celebrated for their calligraphy "skills" — as if, like their human counterparts, they had to practice to make perfect — I worry that the very lifeblood of art is being wrung out while we watch. (Remember how the "drum machine" drained Western music of its soul in the 1980s?)

Keeping in mind that the Belt and Road Initiative will take China's arts and culture farther afield than ever before, and faster, we should all do our best — Chinese people and Chinese culture lovers alike — to ensure that the Middle Kingdom continues, as it has for centuries, to astound the beholder with artistic mysteries that only human hands can create.

Last four photos courtesy of James Healy

About the author & broadcaster

James Healy is from the United States and has been a copy editor at China Daily since 2014. He is an advanced student of Chen style tai chi and enjoys Chinese culture, food and carvings.

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