I'd like to start a wide-ranging discussion about the intersection of Nodebox and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
A few years ago someone suggested using ChatGPT to write NodeBox documentation. I tried that, but ChatGPT kept making things up. NodeBox creator Frederik de Bleser chimed in with the exciting news that he was working on a text version of Nodebox what would be more AI-friendly. https://forum.nodebox.net/t/2804112772/using-chatgpt-to-document-nodebox
There's been no updates since. Frederik, are you still working on that? Any other thoughts about Nodebox and AI?
Meanwhile, we had a small breakthrough this week. Longtime Nodeboxer Floris used the Claude AI to write a Nodebox-friendly Python module to help create seamless noise loops. Details of that process here: https://forum.nodebox.net/t/8547266882/seamless-animation
Writing Python modules for Nodebox is tricky because you have to use the now-ancient 2.7 version of Python and use no external libraries. Floris proved that an AI can (with some difficulty) fill this gap. Thie opens the door to more new nodes.
One thing we could discuss here is what other Python-assisted nodes we could ask an AI like Claude to help with. Here's one idea - a Voronoi node: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voronoi_diagram
Voronoi partitioning is a popular technique in generative art and in information visualization, but it's somewhat math intensive and the standard algorithm requires recursion, which Nodebox can't do. I've been meaning to make a Python-based Voronoi node for ages, but I hate coding in Python and I dread trying to write something like this in Python 2.7 with no math libraries.
Would Floris or anyone else out there like to give this a try using an AI of some kind? Any other ideas for cool nodes?
We could also use this thread to discuss some of the philosophical implications of using AI for generative art. AI is controversial in the art world because AIs were trained on artist work without permission or compensation and commonly available AIs have been used to flood the market with TONS of AI "art" generated at the push of a button by amateurs just fooling around or trying to make money with little human effort or talent.
On the other hand, I have seen veteran artists use AI responsibly as a tool to create new forms of art not possible before. They often train the AI on their own handmade art and then use it as a kind of turbo-powered paintbrush. I have NOT used AI in any of my generative art to date because I fear it could become a slippery slope. At some point instead of me using the AI the AI could be using me. I prefer to keep a clear separation for my work, but respect the choices other artists make for themselves.
I do not believe, though, that using a node which was partly created with help from an AI, crosses the line into "AI Art". The recent noise_loop node Floris and I developed is just a noise node. It could have been entirely created by humans (and similar functions have been on other platforms); the AI just made that part of the process easier. The node itself is a passive tool like a paintbrush; it is up to a human Nodebox artist to decide how to use it and what to use it for. Maybe if we keep going farther that line may start to blur.
I think the rise of AI has already caused us to question ourselves. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to make art? How is AI art different than previous generative art which also uses computers? Does anyone here have any qualms about exploring this technology in a Nodebox context?
How else could we combine AI with Nodebox?
Discuss!
