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AARON: AI Art Generator from 1973

174 points by smusamashah 4y ago

rhplus 4y ago
“AARON cannot learn new styles or imagery on its own; each new capability must be hand-coded by Cohen.” So… not AI?
- bheadmaster 4y ago
  Artificial Intelligence != Machine Learning More precisely, ML ⊂ AI
- jrmg 4y ago
  When I was studying AI at university 20 years ago, there was a running joke in the AI department that things were AI until they worked reliably, then they became Computer Science and the AI folks never got the credit. Like the best jokes there was a grain of truth to it: novel search algorithms, expert systems, heuristic systems, fuzzy logic etc. were all ‘AI’ to begin with. The field really only means trying to get computers to behave intelligently. But people want AI to be somehow mysterious. The current large neural networks are inscrutable enough that the joke may be a reached its limit now (I’m not sure of that though…)
  - mdp2021 4y ago
    > inscrutable enough The "problem of transparency" is also relevant to checking that the solutions proposed by the AI system actually are "intelligent".
- tjr 4y ago
  Decades ago, it was common that "AI" specifically referred to rule-based, symbolic systems. If you were working on "neural networks" then you would explicitly say so.
- Cthulhu_ 4y ago
  Isn't AI just a fancy word for a ton of if statements?
- mdp2021 4y ago
  > So… Simulating intelligence → is AI That new capabilities must be hardcoded just means the AI is not "general".
DonaldFisk 4y ago
I first learned of AARON 20 years ago, when prints were being handed out at a Lisp conference in New York. (Harold Cohen switched from C to Lisp so that he could add colour to its artwork.) There's a lot more information about AARON on its web page: http://www.aaronshome.com/aaron/publications/index.html http://www.aaronshome.com/aaron/publications/index.html
smusamashah 4y ago
This used to be downloadable on windows as a screensaver/standalone version. Here is the gallery of images it made https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/static.html https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/static.html The windows version can be found on Archive[1][2] and it works fine on Windows 10. Generated images are stored in temp dir in text format. Made a tool to view and save them in JavaScript[3]. Images generated by this are very coherent and artistic. You have to try this yourself to witness it. Obviously the windows version is not the full thing but it does create people, plants, walls with paintings on them and does this very well. 1: https://archive.org/details/AARON-2-0-01420 https://archive.org/details/AARON-2-0-01420 2: https://archive.org/details/kurzweilcyberart_aaron https://archive.org/details/kurzweilcyberart_aaron 3: https://github.com/SMUsamaShah/Kurzweil-CyberArt-AARON-Image-Viewer https://github.com/SMUsamaShah/Kurzweil-CyberArt-AARON-Image...
- totetsu 4y ago
  Wow since that page was made we’ve come full circle on “ your web browser is not Java-enabled”
- notRobot 4y ago
  It's crazy that this software (and its installer) from 2001 runs out of the box on Windows 11.
TomWhitwell 4y ago
I’m intrigued by how he achieved the hand-drawn sketchy line style look in his early 80s work when so much computer art was geometric lines or Mandelbrot sets
- retrac 4y ago
  Some of them seem to have been drawn with a plotter.
  - amichal 4y ago
    I saw several plotter-based AARON demos in the 90s. It was interesting and the sketchy line style was nice but not itself impressive. There were many add-ons to CAD software for instance to render drawings in various "hand drawn" looks for reviewing drafts with clients or delivering them as part of the visualizations. I even remember a pen plotter that my dad had that had thick highlighters in some slots for doing color elevation renders
KingOfCoders 4y ago
Can someone explain how this works? Read the article and have no clue.
amyres 4y ago
There's a good book from 1990 with lots of detail, history, and examples of AARON and Harold Cohen's work: Aaron's Code by Pamela McCorduck. Recommended reading for anyone into generative art, or more generally the intersection of computation and art. Out of print, but available second-hand on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aarons-Code-Meta-Art-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/0716721732 https://www.amazon.com/Aarons-Code-Meta-Art-Artificial-Intel...
ris 4y ago
Only tangentially related, but I think it would be fascinating to see an image-generating model trained only on imagery from before a certain date. Or, for that matter, a LLM only trained on content before a certain date, presumably exhibiting attitudes of the time.
- Cthulhu_ 4y ago
  I'd say that's very manageable; there's open source tools and datasets to train a tool just like that. I do wonder if generators like dall-e would generate different results then, that is, if you ask it to do a work in a certain style without any other style in its databases.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
andion 4y ago
What an interesting conference! Thanks for sharing
mdp2021 4y ago
> His creation of this program grew out of what he has described as his need 'to understand what art is' Is not this in a way also the approach of Marvin Minsky?
abbassi 4y ago
[dead]
peppery 4y ago
For those in (or soon traveling to) Southern California, the LA County Museum of Art is now featuring a lovely computer art exhibit that includes physical outputs from Harold Cohen, among other works from algorithmic luminaries of art: https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/coded-art-enters-computer-age-1952-1982 https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/coded-art-enters-comput...
just_steve_h 4y ago
Ray Kurzweil has a long-standing interest in Harold Cohen, and is at least partially responsible for the creation of the Windows software version of AARON. How do I know this? I worked for Ray 25 years ago & helped promote AARON. Our ancient & untouched 2001 website remains available today at https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/ https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/

174 points by smusamashah 4y ago

rhplus 4y ago

“AARON cannot learn new styles or imagery on its own; each new capability must be hand-coded by Cohen.” So… not AI?

bheadmaster 4y ago
Artificial Intelligence != Machine Learning More precisely, ML ⊂ AI
jrmg 4y ago
When I was studying AI at university 20 years ago, there was a running joke in the AI department that things were AI until they worked reliably, then they became Computer Science and the AI folks never got the credit. Like the best jokes there was a grain of truth to it: novel search algorithms, expert systems, heuristic systems, fuzzy logic etc. were all ‘AI’ to begin with. The field really only means trying to get computers to behave intelligently. But people want AI to be somehow mysterious. The current large neural networks are inscrutable enough that the joke may be a reached its limit now (I’m not sure of that though…)
- mdp2021 4y ago
  > inscrutable enough The "problem of transparency" is also relevant to checking that the solutions proposed by the AI system actually are "intelligent".
tjr 4y ago
Decades ago, it was common that "AI" specifically referred to rule-based, symbolic systems. If you were working on "neural networks" then you would explicitly say so.
Cthulhu_ 4y ago
Isn't AI just a fancy word for a ton of if statements?
mdp2021 4y ago
> So… Simulating intelligence → is AI That new capabilities must be hardcoded just means the AI is not "general".

DonaldFisk 4y ago

I first learned of AARON 20 years ago, when prints were being handed out at a Lisp conference in New York. (Harold Cohen switched from C to Lisp so that he could add colour to its artwork.) There's a lot more information about AARON on its web page: http://www.aaronshome.com/aaron/publications/index.html http://www.aaronshome.com/aaron/publications/index.html

smusamashah 4y ago

This used to be downloadable on windows as a screensaver/standalone version. Here is the gallery of images it made https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/static.html https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/static.html The windows version can be found on Archive[1][2] and it works fine on Windows 10. Generated images are stored in temp dir in text format. Made a tool to view and save them in JavaScript[3]. Images generated by this are very coherent and artistic. You have to try this yourself to witness it. Obviously the windows version is not the full thing but it does create people, plants, walls with paintings on them and does this very well. 1: https://archive.org/details/AARON-2-0-01420 https://archive.org/details/AARON-2-0-01420 2: https://archive.org/details/kurzweilcyberart_aaron https://archive.org/details/kurzweilcyberart_aaron 3: https://github.com/SMUsamaShah/Kurzweil-CyberArt-AARON-Image-Viewer https://github.com/SMUsamaShah/Kurzweil-CyberArt-AARON-Image...

totetsu 4y ago
Wow since that page was made we’ve come full circle on “ your web browser is not Java-enabled”
notRobot 4y ago
It's crazy that this software (and its installer) from 2001 runs out of the box on Windows 11.

TomWhitwell 4y ago

I’m intrigued by how he achieved the hand-drawn sketchy line style look in his early 80s work when so much computer art was geometric lines or Mandelbrot sets

retrac 4y ago
Some of them seem to have been drawn with a plotter.
- amichal 4y ago
  I saw several plotter-based AARON demos in the 90s. It was interesting and the sketchy line style was nice but not itself impressive. There were many add-ons to CAD software for instance to render drawings in various "hand drawn" looks for reviewing drafts with clients or delivering them as part of the visualizations. I even remember a pen plotter that my dad had that had thick highlighters in some slots for doing color elevation renders

KingOfCoders 4y ago

Can someone explain how this works? Read the article and have no clue.

amyres 4y ago

There's a good book from 1990 with lots of detail, history, and examples of AARON and Harold Cohen's work: Aaron's Code by Pamela McCorduck. Recommended reading for anyone into generative art, or more generally the intersection of computation and art. Out of print, but available second-hand on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aarons-Code-Meta-Art-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/0716721732 https://www.amazon.com/Aarons-Code-Meta-Art-Artificial-Intel...

ris 4y ago

Only tangentially related, but I think it would be fascinating to see an image-generating model trained only on imagery from before a certain date. Or, for that matter, a LLM only trained on content before a certain date, presumably exhibiting attitudes of the time.

Cthulhu_ 4y ago
I'd say that's very manageable; there's open source tools and datasets to train a tool just like that. I do wonder if generators like dall-e would generate different results then, that is, if you ask it to do a work in a certain style without any other style in its databases.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

andion 4y ago

What an interesting conference! Thanks for sharing

mdp2021 4y ago

> His creation of this program grew out of what he has described as his need 'to understand what art is' Is not this in a way also the approach of Marvin Minsky?

abbassi 4y ago

[dead]

peppery 4y ago

For those in (or soon traveling to) Southern California, the LA County Museum of Art is now featuring a lovely computer art exhibit that includes physical outputs from Harold Cohen, among other works from algorithmic luminaries of art: https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/coded-art-enters-computer-age-1952-1982 https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/coded-art-enters-comput...

just_steve_h 4y ago

Ray Kurzweil has a long-standing interest in Harold Cohen, and is at least partially responsible for the creation of the Windows software version of AARON. How do I know this? I worked for Ray 25 years ago & helped promote AARON. Our ancient & untouched 2001 website remains available today at https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/ https://www.kurzweilcyberart.com/