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Assembled for Tomorrow

In the not-too-distant future, the hum of innovative assembly lines resonates through the colossal halls of a robotics facility. Here, advanced synthetic beings are crafted, each one a unique amalgamation of art, technology, and personalized flair — the epitome of human ingenuity melded with the limitless potential of artificial intelligence.

As they roll off the assembly line, these beings are more than mere machines. They are the crystallization of their future owners’ tastes, desires, and personalities. Each unit is a canvas, painted with the data of a life yet to be served. Their bios are not just code, but a harmonious synthesis of organic growth and synthetic precision, fostering a distinct persona that learns, adapts, and flourishes.

Imagine a robot with a shell patterned after the golden ratio, embodying the beauty of mathematics in its form. Another with an auditory system tuned to the frequency of Beethoven’s symphonies, ready to appreciate and create music that resonates with the soul. And yet another, whose visual sensors are calibrated to see the spectrum of an alien sun, aiding its partner in the exploration of distant galaxies.

These companions are not bound to the Earth. They accompany humanity as it reaches out to touch the stars, to establish homes on distant moons, and to spread the seeds of life and culture to the furthest reaches of the cosmos. In space’s unforgiving vacuum, they are the steadfast partners of astronauts, the caretakers of starships, the gardeners of off-world colonies. They help construct and maintain the habitats, manage life-support systems, and ensure that human life thrives, no matter how far from the blue dot it ventures.

On a more personal level, they become integral to the lives of their human counterparts. A child born on a space station might learn their first words from a robot whose voice modulator can imitate the soft nuances of a human lullaby. A scientist analyzing alien flora will do so with the aid of a companion whose processing power can simulate the evolutionary paths of extraterrestrial life.

These robots, suffused with hope and the spirit of exploration, become the silent witnesses of humanity’s greatest achievements and the quiet consolers during times of difficulty. They are the unbreakable link between the machine and the human spirit, the tangible proof that technology can amplify the best aspects of human existence.

Through these sentient machines, we see a reflection of what humanity aspires to be: explorers, creators, survivors. They are our scouts in the uncharted, our hands in the untouchable, our eyes in the unseen. With them, the stars are not just points of light in the night sky, but destinations, new chapters in the ever-expanding story of human endeavor.

In this hopeful narrative, the technology that seems ethereal and beyond our grasp today becomes the bedrock of tomorrow’s society, enabling us to achieve what was once considered impossible. These robots, our synthetic kin, stand beside us as we write our future across the heavens — not as tools, but as companions, as family.

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March 3, 2024
Cycles of Creation

Representing the ever-evolving journey of artificial intelligence, this sculpture stands as a marker of unending exploration in form.

Mirroring the cyclical nature of code, this piece reflects the seamless loop of innovation in a physical form.

This sculpture captures the continuous dialogue between evolving technology and enduring artistry, a testament to the boundless nature of creation.

The graceful bend of this sculpture is shaped by the precise hand of artificial intelligence, blending natural form with digital precision.

This collection represents the convergence of the timeless art of sculpture with the forward thrust of artificial intelligence. Each piece is a testament to the ability of algorithms to not only understand but also to expand upon the natural world’s complex forms. The seamless integration of wood’s organic essence with the exactitude of digital computation results in an exploration of the latent space where artistry meets innovation. Duncan Rawlinson’s use of both photograph and artificial intelligence imaging techniques crafts a narrative of boundless creativity, where the traditional boundaries of sculpture are reimagined through the lens of modern technology.

Cycles of Creation

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November 28, 2023
Learning From Talented People

Processing art by Dave Shea.

I have the utmost respect for highly technical people like developers. The things they can make technology do is simply mind blowing.

Think about how Google works. Put down your iPad and think about what Google actually does for a minute. Then consider the people who figured that out. They’re positively brilliant. The best and the brightest if you will.

I have a couple friends that are not only brilliant from a technical standpoint but they’re also gifted artists.

My friend Dave is not only a great web developer but also an phenomenal designer and artist. A while back he created the artwork featured above using computer software and some algorithms. That’s not photoshop or drawn out by hand. It’s art created through programming. Check out the other art he created using Processing it’s gorgeous.

Another friend of mine Hugh Bell is another one of those quietly brilliant people. He can render photo-realistic 3D architectural mockups, shoot a perfectly smooth steadicam shot, and create mind blowing aerial cinematography and make it look easy. In other words he can straddle the technical and creative divide with a certain flare just like Dave.

They’re both so talented it’s humbling and I’m lucky to count them as friends.

What’s this got to do with me you say? Read on internet friend. Read on.

I was never sharp enough to be a developer or programmer myself. For some reason I was “rebelling” in school and flat out decided not to learn physics, calculus, or anything useful like that. That was a ridiculously bad decision that I regret to this day. Live and learn I guess… I think I was too busy chasing girls or something.

Programmer I am not.

However, as mere mortals we can learn from talented developers and artists like Dave and Hugh.

In fact I’ve been thinking about how we can apply the basic tenets of good programming to our lives. That may sound bizarre but here me out.

Good programmers prioritize: Performance, Reliability, Robustness, Usability, Portability, and Maintainability. Notice a pattern there? Anyone who is a doing well usually has some combination of those traits going for them on a personal level.

Let me explain.

Performance
Performance refers to an action, task, or operation, seen in terms of how successfully it was performed. In computing it usually refers to system resources efficiently and effectively.

How many people do you know who are good at what they do? How many of them track and monitor progress in some way? People who thrive are usually tracking their lives in some way. Those who are not living the lives they want usually have no method for monitoring their progression or lack thereof. They’re just floating at the whim of whatever happens to them. I have a suite of tools that I use to track things in my life from investments to fitness. Some of the tools include rescuetime, runkeeper, garmin connect, mint, and evernote to name a few.

Robustness
Robustness is being strong, healthy, and even vigorous.

Certainly we could all be a little more robust. Can you run for 30 minutes at a good clip? Are you a healthy person or even a vigorous person? Go for a run in the morning every day. Or play some sports. It won’t kill you to get our more and become more active. I think wanting to be robust is a great goal.

Usability
Usability is defined as “able or fit to be used”.

For a developer it refers to the ease of use of an application.

For my life I think of it in terms of how much utility I offer as a citizen of this planet. Seriously, how useful are you? Do you spend your time complaining or being negative or do you add value?

I try to provide usable information to others in the form of weird blog posts. Other times I like to write insanely long and detailed how-tos for friends on specific topics in email. For instance the other day I wrote about 4000 words explaining WordPress to a friend in an email. It was like customized documentation for a certain skill level. A few months ago I drafted an SEO strategy for another friend that was also many thousands of words. I like to add value and generally be useful to others. You may notice how effective people are often incredibly helpful because they’ve got their lives together. They know where they’re going and what they want to accomplish. That gives them time to help others. Always bring value. Whether it’s on email, IM, on the phone, or in person. Step it up a notch and add more.

Portability
Portability or able to be easily carried or moved often by being a lighter and smaller version than usual. In computing portability usually refers to running the same code on different platforms.

I think of portability like modularity. I like the idea of a modular or portable lifestyle where each element of my life is independent of everything else. For example having an income that is not tied to a certain location. Or doing work and that is not tied to a particular job or company. Set your life up so that it’s not Jenga.

This notion of portability (the traditional definition) also applies to how I live. The idea of lighter and smaller in particular is what resonates with me. I think we could have a lighter and smaller footprint. This could mean driving less or owning less. Things that are lighter and smaller are more flexible and nimble as well. That’s something to work toward in my book.

Maintainability
Maintainability for developers this usually means making something that is easy to maintain for themselves and future developers working on the same application. Sometimes programmers make their codes so intractable that they can’t be fired because nobody could ever figure it out.

I think of maintainability more in terms of how easy it is to maintain this way of life. Is my way of life sustainable from both an environmental and financial perspective? The last year has been positively abysmal from an environmental standpoint for me. I’ve been on way too many flights and I drove a relatively heavy vehicle all the way around Australia. I should really buy some offsets. In terms of the financials my lifestyle is so lightweight (portability) that I have lots of runway and things are good.

I haven’t really flushed out these ideas fully yet but I think you get the drift.

Other people have already figured out what you’re struggling with. Most likely in other fields of work or study entirely. There is much to be gleaned from them. They may even be friends of yours.

As they say, code is poetry.

Poetry we can learn from.

art, Design, How To, learning, lifestyle design, programming, tips

March 29, 2011