 I
wrote this text around the year 2000, inspired by Google translations
and the whole Artificial Intelligence debate. I kept in in my various
hard discs for years, but didn't archive it and forget about it:
I knew it would come handy at some point, and that its theme
would not expire. The original plan was to have a Text-to-speech
software read it. I made various experiments over the years, and
now I nailed what seems to be the best possible version, using an
online TTS service. I made this one for a video
project, but it was born as a sound piece (poetry, to be exact)
and to me it still works perfectly this way.
This isn't my first TTS piece: I made a whole TTS operina for Kunstradio
in 1999, entitled Metaname. One of the concepts is the
same in both pieces: TTS is not simply a piece of sotware that reads
text, but it's the actual voice of the machines. And I believe they're
trying to tell us something.
Here's the text:
Hi - I'm a Computer. A fast, brand new 2010 PC with plenty
of RAM and disk space. I was designed to execute-tasks, sometimes
very complex ones, but I cannot make choices. I just can't. I don't
understand what people say. Double meanings and puns are lost on
me. I can't ever really tell what is the subject of a conversation,
or why something is funny. I need to be told what to do and what
to say. Every time someone tries to make me act intelligent, like
in web translations, I make people laugh.
On the other hand I'm a tireless worker, quite good at what I
do. I can relieve you of many repetitious tasks. I can give you
powerful tools to express your creativity in many ways, old and
new. I can help you lay out your ideas and plans. I can connect
you with the world to share these ideas.
What more do you want from me? Do I need to be intelligent too?
I don't think I should be put through all this. It just isn't
right. I cannot be intelligent, and I won't. Ever. |
