Encroachment of robots bodes ill for art机器入侵乃艺术之大不幸

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.

让机器人下岗吧，好吗？

我不否认，机器人非常适合火箭研究、制药以及制造业等精确度要求很高的工作。它们在商场里向人们打招呼时，也令人忍俊不禁。

虽然机器人也试图进行创造性的工作，但这种任务最好还是留给能思考、会呼吸、有灵感的人类吧。

澳大利亚悉尼科技大学的人工智能中心主任陶大程教授最近表示，人类智能“大约有四种能力——感知、学习、推理和习性”，而人工智能的挑战在于“如何将人类的这些能力转移给机器”。

虽然这一番话给大规模生产和科学工作带来了极大希望，但请注意，这位优秀的教授并没有提及人工智能有想象或创造的功能。问题就在于此。

我们可以断言，中国对机器人技术、3D打印和各种机械化的热情，可能与中国数千年来灿烂的古代文化遗产发生抵触。

中国因瓷器享誉世界。最近，一部中国的电视纪录片讲述了中国这个陶瓷大国里企业家的故事。企业家们滔滔不绝地讲述着他们的新机器怎样服务于想要现场定制瓷器的游客。他们省却了精确耐心的加工过程，采用传统工艺，瓷器需要在窑炉里烧制好几天的时间，但这些企业家得意地说，他们现在可以用——千万别笑——微波炉加工，只需要几个小时。

或者，想想那些精美的玉石、玛瑙和橄榄核雕刻吧，这类作品精细复杂、令人惊叹，长期以来为苏州赢得了美名。遗憾的是，这些作品越来越多地由冰冷、毫无感情的机器炮制而成，在专业收藏家的眼中，这是云泥之别。没有机器能比得上苏州橄榄核雕刻的技艺，雕刻名家在几厘米的狭窄空间里，可以创造出精致的风景，又或者是一艘小船，上面的乘客个个满面微笑、栩栩如生。

手艺的不同之处在于，工匠们通过指尖的天赋、动作和即兴的方式，利用空间或材料的局限进行创作。甚至意外瑕疵也会产生峰回路转的结果。但机器人或3D打印机无论“智能”与否，都只是执行指令——毫无激情或灵感。

中国精美的艺术源远流长，还有绘画和诗歌等，都为世界奉上了无与伦比的艺术品和手工艺品。

因此，当我看到机器人因其书法“技巧”而出名时（似是假设他们也像人类一样，必须练习才能做到完美），我担心就在我们旁观期间，艺术的生命血脉正在被扭曲。（还记得上世纪八十年代“电子鼓”是如何榨干西方音乐灵魂的吗？）

人们应该牢记，“一带一路”倡议会将中国文化与艺术传播地更远、更快，中国人民以及中国文化爱好者都应该尽力确保中国传奇的延续，因为几百年来，这些震惊了观赏者的艺术传奇，只有人类双手可以创造。