Is the Algorithm replacing the Artist?
The term ‘Silicon Valley’ was coined in 1971, 2 years after man first landed on the moon and several years after rival geopolitical forces had edged to the brink of, and backed away from nuclear warfare. In some respects there was grounds for optimism. Technological development was advancing at unprecedented speeds. The microchip was becoming commonplace after Texas Instruments (that’s right, the Speak and Spell people!) issued a patent for miniaturised electronic circuits. Leaving the world on the precipice of having robots doing all the work for humanity leaving us to realise our collective dreams of self actualisation. An AI rendering of collective self actualisation Despite being on the edge of this brave new world, the Science Fiction of this era had been rooted the the paranoia and fear generated by the Cold War. Phillip K Dick’s novel, ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ (the precursor for the Hollywood cultural behemoth, Bladerunner) was set in a post Nucle...