Forthcoming
Herman, Laura & Caterina Moruzzi. 'The Algorithmic Pedestal: A Practice-Based Study of Algorithmic and Artistic Curation.' Leonardo. [Abstract]
Black, Suzanne R., Caterina Moruzzi, Nicola Osborne, Melissa Terras, & Frauke Zeller. 'Supporting the Creative Industries Through the AI Turn: a comparative analysis of Scottish policy and the needs of Scotland’s creative practitioners'. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina & Solange Margarido. 'A User-centered Framework for Human-AI Co-creativity'. Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’24). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. 'Imagination, Creativity, and Agency'. In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination and Creativity, ed. by Amy Kind and Julia Langkau. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina & Oreste Campagner. 'AI and Art: Non-Human, Still Human, or All Too Human'. In Artificial Intelligence, Co-Creation & Creativity, ed. by Francisco Tigre Moura. London: Routledge. [Abstract]
2024
Eccles, Kathryn, Laura Herman, Caterina Moruzzi & Maggie Mustaklem. 'Introducing the Method of Exhibit-Based Research'. Communication Design Quarterly. [Abstract]
2023
Moruzzi, Caterina. Research Summary of 'Creative Agents: Rethinking Agency and Creativity in Human and Artificial Systems', Montreal AI Ethics Institute. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Creative Agents: Rethinking Agency and Creativity in Human and Artificial Systems’, Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology, 9(2): 245-268. [Abstract]
2022
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Toward Out-of-Distribution Generalization Through Inductive Biases’, Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2021, Vincent C. Müller (ed.), SAPERE; Berlin: Springer. [Abstract]
Herman, Laura and Moruzzi, Caterina. 'Exploring Embodiment’s Role in Creativity with Live Artistic Performances', in Herman, Laura and Caterina Moruzzi (eds.) Proceedings of the workshop 'The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity' at ICCC'22, urn:nbn:de:0074-3255-7. [Abstract]
Herman, Laura and Moruzzi, Caterina (eds.). CEUR Proceedings of the ICCC’22 workshop ‘The Role of Embodiment in Perceptions of Natural and Artificial Creativity’ at ICCC'22, urn:nbn:de:0074-3255-7. [Abstract]
El-Assady, Menna, Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Which Biases and Reasoning Pitfalls do Explanations Trigger? Decomposing Communication Processes in Human-AI Interaction’, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. [Abstract]
Bouhadjar, Younes, Moruzzi, Caterina and Payvand, Melika. ‘Prediction: An Algorithmic Principle Meeting Neuroscience and Machine Learning Halfway’, Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Human-Like Computing at the 2nd International Joint Conference on Learning & Reasoning 2022. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘The (Artificial) Physicality of Creativity: How Embodiment Influences Perceptions of Creativity', Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computational Creativity (ICCC 2022). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Perceptions of Creativity in Artistic and Scientific Processes’, Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X 2022. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Everyone Can Change a Musical Work’, The British Journal of Aesthetics 62(1): 1–13. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Climbing the Ladder: How Agents Reach Counterfactual Thinking’, Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, 3: 555-560. [Abstract]
Fossa, Fabio, Moruzzi, Caterina and Verdicchio, Mario (eds.). Creativity in the Light of AI. Odradek, Vol. 8 N. 1. [Abstract]
2021
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Improvisation as Creative Performance’, in Handbook of Philosophy and Improvisation in the Arts, Alessandro Bertinetto and Marcello Ruta (eds.), London: Routledge. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Measuring Creativity: An Account of Natural and Artificial Creativity’, European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11(1). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. 'On the Relevance of Understanding for Creativity’, Proceedings of AISB2021. [Abstract]
2020
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Looking for Creativity: GANs as a Paradigm of Autonomy in Software for Music Composition’, in Be My GAN: Arte e Intelligenza Artificiale, Alice Barale (ed.), Milano: Jaca Book. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Artificial Creativity and General Intelligence’, Journal of Science and Technology in the Arts 12(3): 84-99. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Learning Through Creativity: How Creativity Can Help Machine Learning Achieving Deeper Understanding’, Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio 14(2). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘The Assumptions Behind Musical Stage Theory: A Reply to Letts’, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 78(3): 362-366. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Should Human Artists Fear AI? A Report on the Perception of Creative AI’, Proceedings of xCoAx2020, pp. 170-185. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Can a Computer Create a Musical Work? Creativity and Autonomy of AI Software for Music Composition’, in Gouveia, Steven S. (ed.), The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration, Vernon Press. [Abstract]
2019
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘An Ontological Justification for Contextual Authenticity’, British Journal of Aesthetics, 59(4): 413-427. [Abstract]
2018
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Every Performance is a Stage: Musical Stage Theory as a Novel Account for the Ontology of Musical Works’, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 76(3): 341-351. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Creative AI: Music Composition Programs as an Extension of the Composer’s Mind’, in Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2017, Vincent C. Müller (ed.), SAPERE; Berlin: Springer. [Abstract]
Herman, Laura & Caterina Moruzzi. 'The Algorithmic Pedestal: A Practice-Based Study of Algorithmic and Artistic Curation.' Leonardo. [Abstract]
Black, Suzanne R., Caterina Moruzzi, Nicola Osborne, Melissa Terras, & Frauke Zeller. 'Supporting the Creative Industries Through the AI Turn: a comparative analysis of Scottish policy and the needs of Scotland’s creative practitioners'. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina & Solange Margarido. 'A User-centered Framework for Human-AI Co-creativity'. Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’24). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. 'Imagination, Creativity, and Agency'. In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Imagination and Creativity, ed. by Amy Kind and Julia Langkau. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina & Oreste Campagner. 'AI and Art: Non-Human, Still Human, or All Too Human'. In Artificial Intelligence, Co-Creation & Creativity, ed. by Francisco Tigre Moura. London: Routledge. [Abstract]
2024
Eccles, Kathryn, Laura Herman, Caterina Moruzzi & Maggie Mustaklem. 'Introducing the Method of Exhibit-Based Research'. Communication Design Quarterly. [Abstract]
2023
Moruzzi, Caterina. Research Summary of 'Creative Agents: Rethinking Agency and Creativity in Human and Artificial Systems', Montreal AI Ethics Institute. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Creative Agents: Rethinking Agency and Creativity in Human and Artificial Systems’, Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology, 9(2): 245-268. [Abstract]
2022
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Toward Out-of-Distribution Generalization Through Inductive Biases’, Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2021, Vincent C. Müller (ed.), SAPERE; Berlin: Springer. [Abstract]
Herman, Laura and Moruzzi, Caterina. 'Exploring Embodiment’s Role in Creativity with Live Artistic Performances', in Herman, Laura and Caterina Moruzzi (eds.) Proceedings of the workshop 'The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity' at ICCC'22, urn:nbn:de:0074-3255-7. [Abstract]
Herman, Laura and Moruzzi, Caterina (eds.). CEUR Proceedings of the ICCC’22 workshop ‘The Role of Embodiment in Perceptions of Natural and Artificial Creativity’ at ICCC'22, urn:nbn:de:0074-3255-7. [Abstract]
El-Assady, Menna, Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Which Biases and Reasoning Pitfalls do Explanations Trigger? Decomposing Communication Processes in Human-AI Interaction’, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. [Abstract]
Bouhadjar, Younes, Moruzzi, Caterina and Payvand, Melika. ‘Prediction: An Algorithmic Principle Meeting Neuroscience and Machine Learning Halfway’, Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Human-Like Computing at the 2nd International Joint Conference on Learning & Reasoning 2022. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘The (Artificial) Physicality of Creativity: How Embodiment Influences Perceptions of Creativity', Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computational Creativity (ICCC 2022). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Perceptions of Creativity in Artistic and Scientific Processes’, Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X 2022. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Everyone Can Change a Musical Work’, The British Journal of Aesthetics 62(1): 1–13. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Climbing the Ladder: How Agents Reach Counterfactual Thinking’, Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, 3: 555-560. [Abstract]
Fossa, Fabio, Moruzzi, Caterina and Verdicchio, Mario (eds.). Creativity in the Light of AI. Odradek, Vol. 8 N. 1. [Abstract]
2021
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Improvisation as Creative Performance’, in Handbook of Philosophy and Improvisation in the Arts, Alessandro Bertinetto and Marcello Ruta (eds.), London: Routledge. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Measuring Creativity: An Account of Natural and Artificial Creativity’, European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11(1). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. 'On the Relevance of Understanding for Creativity’, Proceedings of AISB2021. [Abstract]
2020
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Looking for Creativity: GANs as a Paradigm of Autonomy in Software for Music Composition’, in Be My GAN: Arte e Intelligenza Artificiale, Alice Barale (ed.), Milano: Jaca Book. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Artificial Creativity and General Intelligence’, Journal of Science and Technology in the Arts 12(3): 84-99. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Learning Through Creativity: How Creativity Can Help Machine Learning Achieving Deeper Understanding’, Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio 14(2). [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘The Assumptions Behind Musical Stage Theory: A Reply to Letts’, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 78(3): 362-366. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Should Human Artists Fear AI? A Report on the Perception of Creative AI’, Proceedings of xCoAx2020, pp. 170-185. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Can a Computer Create a Musical Work? Creativity and Autonomy of AI Software for Music Composition’, in Gouveia, Steven S. (ed.), The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration, Vernon Press. [Abstract]
2019
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘An Ontological Justification for Contextual Authenticity’, British Journal of Aesthetics, 59(4): 413-427. [Abstract]
2018
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Every Performance is a Stage: Musical Stage Theory as a Novel Account for the Ontology of Musical Works’, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 76(3): 341-351. [Abstract]
Moruzzi, Caterina. ‘Creative AI: Music Composition Programs as an Extension of the Composer’s Mind’, in Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2017, Vincent C. Müller (ed.), SAPERE; Berlin: Springer. [Abstract]
Abstracts
The Algorithmic Pedestal: A Practice-Based Study of Algorithmic and Artistic Curation
This paper delineates the authors’ practice-based findings from The Algorithmic Pedestal exhibit, a practice-based research project examining the impact of algorithmic curation on visual ecology. Instagram, a platform that deploys algorithmic recommendations to select and display artworks, was instructed to choose a set of images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection to display. Fabienne Hess, a London-based artist also chose images to display from the same collection. This article reflects on the process of producing an exhibit with curatorial inputs from both a machine and a human. It also shares and describes the selected images for the first time.
This paper delineates the authors’ practice-based findings from The Algorithmic Pedestal exhibit, a practice-based research project examining the impact of algorithmic curation on visual ecology. Instagram, a platform that deploys algorithmic recommendations to select and display artworks, was instructed to choose a set of images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection to display. Fabienne Hess, a London-based artist also chose images to display from the same collection. This article reflects on the process of producing an exhibit with curatorial inputs from both a machine and a human. It also shares and describes the selected images for the first time.
Supporting the Creative Industries Through the AI Turn: a comparative analysis of Scottish policy and the needs of Scotland’s creative practitioners
|
A User-centered Framework for Human-AI Co-creativity
The pervasive adoption and use of Generative AI tools prompted a discourse on determining the optimal balance between automa- tion and human agency in processes executed by users with the assistance of this technology. This paper presents a user-centered co-creativity framework that identifies key dimensions responsible for the modulation of agency and control between users and AI in co-creative processes. It also suggests an actionable way of imple- menting the framework in a customization tool, in the form of a mobile application, which can be used to tailor the interaction be- tween users and the AI system following the dimensions proposed in the framework. The paper contributes new insights within the literature on Computational Creativity and Human-Computer Interaction interested in the investigation of modalities of co-creation between humans and AI. Cite as: Caterina Moruzzi and Solange Margarido. 2024. A User-centered Framework for Human-AI Co-creativity. In Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’24), May 11–16, 2024, Honolulu, HI, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 10 pages. https://doi.org/10. 1145/3613905.3650929. |
Imagination, Creativity, and Agency
The primary objective of the chapter is to delve into the relatively unexplored relationship between imagination, creativity, and agency, with a specific emphasis on the role of agency in connecting imagination and creativity. The chapter will introduce a novel framework, aimed at modeling the various stages of creative processes: the Imagination-in-Action framework. This framework will elucidate the essential role of imagination in creative endeavors, at the same time emphasizing the need for ideas to be manifested in a tangible form to complete the process of creativity. By exploring how agency and constraints enable agents to simulate and refine ideas generated during the imagination process, the chapter will also provide support to claims in favor of the epistemic value of imagination. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 'Imagination, Creativity, and Agency. In The Oxford Handbook of Imagination, Creativity, and the Subject, ed. by Amy Kind and Julia Langkau. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
AI and Art: Non-Human, Still Human, or All Too Human
The increasingly widespread adoption and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models for content generation are disrupting traditional approaches to artistic production and challenging the traditionally anthropocentric nature of art: humans and machines now share the control of the creative process at an unprecedented level. Nonetheless, the data which AI models are trained on consist of a collection of human experiences, ideas, and products. This chapter reflects on these two apparently diverging statements, mapping out the effects that the increasingly widespread adoption and use of this technology can have on the nature and function of art and on the resulting position of the artist. Without underestimating the influence of AI in transforming artistic practices, the conclusion of the chapter comes full circle: art is still human, maybe more human than ever. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina & Oreste Campagner. 'AI and Art: Non-Human, Still Human, or All Too Human?' In Artificial Intelligence, Co-Creation & Creativity, ed. by Francisco Tigre Moura. London: Routledge. |
Introducing the Method of Exhibit-Based Research
This paper introduces a method, Exhibit Based Research (EBR), in which we deploy standalone gallery exhibits as a central component of our research program. We adopt this method to distill complex visual research problems and problematize technological affordances. In the two case studies outlined in this paper, we deploy this method to articulate the role played by algorithms in processes of inspiration, design, and curation. EBR includes a practice-based component, the co-design of an exhibit, a participant engagement component, and interactive, multimodal data collection. The EBR approach creates a dynamic engagement between the public, academia, and creatives, increasing the relevancy of findings across audiences and advancing public understandings. This methodological paper aims to encourage other researchers in the community to consider EBR as an inclusive, immediate, and effective means of revealing opaque concepts and mechanisms via exhibition design. Cite as: Eccles, Kathryn, Laura Herman, Caterina Moruzzi & Maggie Mustaklem. 'Introducing the Method of Exhibit-Based Research'. Communication Design Quarterly. DOI: 10.1145/3627691.3627696. |
Creative Agents: Rethinking Agency and Creativity in Human and Artificial Systems
While the notions of creativity and agency have each received considerable attention in the literature on computational systems, the connections between these two concepts have rarely been addressed. In this paper, I contribute to this debate by discussing the results of an online questionnaire aimed at testing the interactions between the attribution of agency and creativity to human and artificial subjects. Findings of the study indicate that the ascription of agentive capabilities to a subject is positively correlated to the level of creativity attributed to the process they perform. This result supports the claim that a better understanding of the steps needed in order to achieve agency can help also to shed light on the development of creativity in computational systems. I conclude the paper by suggesting that the technological revolution of the last decades is compelling us to re-think concepts such as authorship, ownership, agency, and creativity that, so far, have been typically attributed to humans only, and to consider how these notions are being transformed in dynamics of interaction between humans and machines. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. (2022). ‘Creative Agents: Rethinking Agency and Creativity in Human and Artificial Systems’, Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology, 9(2): 245-268, DOI: 10.1080/20539320.2022.2150470. |
The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity
The role of embodiment in creativity has not been addressed in depth in the literature, and has been considered even less so in connection with Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a few exceptions. Still, the perception of the embodiment of the creator is generally deemed a key aspect of the observer's response to an artwork. If true, this poses interesting challenges for AI systems attempting to generate creative art, as they are inherently disembodied. This volume includes contributions from participants to the workshop `The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity', organized by the authors in the context of the 13th International Conference on Computational Creativity, ICCC’22. Cite as: Herman, Laura and Moruzzi, Caterina (eds.). 2022. Proceedings of the ICCC’22 workshop 'The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity', urn:nbn:de:0074-3255-7. |
Exploring Embodiment’s Role in Creativity with Live Artistic Performances
The paper engages with the role of embodiment in perceptions of creativity, by discussing the aims and motivations behind the workshop `The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity', organized by the authors in the context of the 13th International Conference on Computational Creativity, ICCC’22. This workshop pioneered a novel format for the Computational Creativity community in which artists are on hand to physically share and discuss their process with the research audience. We describe the structure of the workshop and the methodology followed in designing the audience survey conducted during the first day. Lastly, we argue for the relevance of more in-field studies aimed at testing the role played by the interaction with live artistic processes on evaluations of creativity. Cite as: Herman, Laura and Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. 'Exploring Embodiment’s Role in Creativity with Live Artistic Performances', in Herman, Laura and Caterina Moruzzi (eds.) Proceedings of the workshop 'The Role of Embodiment in the Perception of Human & Artificial Creativity' at ICCC'22, urn:nbn:de:0074-3255-7. |
Prediction: An Algorithmic Principle Meeting Neuroscience and Machine Learning Halfway
In this paper, we support the relevance of the collaboration and mutual inspiration between research in Artificial Intelligence and neuroscience to create truly intelligent and efficient systems. In contrast to the traditional top-down and bottom-up strategies designed to study and emulate the brain, we propose an alternative approach where these two strategies are met halfway, defining a set of algorithmic principles. We present prediction as a core algorithmic principle and advocate for applying the same approach to identify other neural principles which can constitute core mechanisms of new Machine Learning frameworks. Cite as: Bouhadjar, Younes, Moruzzi, Caterina and Payvand, Melika. 2022. `Prediction: An Algorithmic Principle Meeting Neuroscience and Machine Learning Halfway', Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Human-Like Computing at the 2nd International Joint Conference on Learning & Reasoning (IJCLR) 2022. |
Which Biases and Reasoning Pitfalls Do Explanations Trigger? Decomposing Communication Processes in Human-AI Interaction
Collaborative human-AI problem-solving and decision-making rely on effective communications between both agents. Such communication processes comprise explanations and interactions between a sender and a receiver. Investigating these dynamics is crucial to avoid miscommunication problems. Hence, in this paper, we propose a communication dynamics model, examining the impact of the sender's explanation intention and strategy on the receiver's perception of explanation effects. We further present potential biases and reasoning pitfalls with the aim of contributing to the design of hybrid intelligence systems. Lastly, we propose six desiderata for human-centered explainable AI and discuss future research opportunities. Cite as: El-Assady, Mennatallah, and Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. 'Which Biases and Reasoning Pitfalls Do Explanations Trigger? Decomposing Communication Processes in Human-AI Interaction', IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 11-23. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCG.2022.3200328 |
Toward Out-of-Distribution Generalization Through Inductive Biases
State-of-the-art Machine Learning systems are able to process and analyze a large amount of data but they still struggle to generalize to out-of-distribution scenarios. To use Judea Pearl’s words, “Data are profoundly dumb" (Pearl & Macken- zie, 2018); possessing a model of the world, a representation through which to frame reality is a necessary requirement in order to discriminate between relevant and irrelevant information and to deal with unknown scenarios. The aim of this paper is to address the crucial challenge of out-of-distribution generalization in automated systems by developing an understanding of how human agents build models to act in a dynamic environment. The steps needed to reach this goal are described by Pearl through the metaphor of the Ladder of Causation. In this paper, I support the relevance of inductive biases in order for an agent to reach the second rung on the Ladder: that of actively interacting with the environment. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. Toward Out-of-Distribution Generalization Through Inductive Biases. In: Müller, V.C. (eds) Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2021. PTAI 2021. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 63. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09153-7_5 |
Creativity in the Light of AI. Special issue in Odradek
This issue of Odradek, titled Creativity in the Light of AI, stemmed from our wish to investigate the intersection between the notion of creativity and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The scholars who contributed to this issue of Odradek shed light on extremely interesting directions along which this discussion might develop. We are very grateful for these enrichments to debates on human and artificial creativity provided by the contributors to this issue, and we are happy to share them with our readers. Cite as: Fossa, Fabio, Moruzzi, Caterina and Verdicchio, Mario (eds.). 2022. Creativity in the Light of AI. Odradek, Vol. 8 N. 1. |
The (Artificial) Physicality of Creativity: How Embodiment Influences Perceptions of Creativity
The generation of artifacts through computational creativity (CC) systems is hitting the headlines with increasing frequency. Although impressive, this paper will not focus on the outcomes achieved by these systems, but rather on a specific dimension of artistic processes: embodiment. I discuss the results of a recent factorial survey study aimed at testing the influence that embodiment has on the evaluation of creativity. These findings show that the physical dimension of artificial systems interacting with human artists contributes to the perception of the interplay between artificial and human agents as a creative collaboration. I propose that a closer study of the dynamics of interaction between embodied machines, human artists, and the public can facilitate progress in both the artistic and the technology sector. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. 'The (Artificial) Physicality of Creativity: How Embodiment Influences Perceptions of Creativity', Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computational Creativity. |
Perceptions of Creativity in Artistic and Scientific Processes
This paper presents the results of a factorial survey research on perceptions of artistic and scientific creativity in humans and AI. A general reluctance at attributing creativity to artificial systems is well-documented in the literature on the theme. Aim of this survey is to test whether this reluctance is equally strong when participants evaluate scenarios where human and artificial agents are involved in processes of scientific discovery and scenarios where they are engaged in artistic creation processes. The starting hypothesis of the study is that participants should be less hesitant at attributing creativity to artificial agents when the latter engage in scientific discovery processes. Findings, however, disconfirm this assumption, showing that participants attribute significantly less creativity to artificial actors than to human ones, and even more so when they are involved in scientific processes. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. 'Perceptions of Creativity in Artistic and Scientific Processes', Proceedings of 10th Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X 2022, 11-25. https://doi.org/10.24840/xCoAx_2022_5 |
Climbing the Ladder: How Agents Reach Counterfactual Thinking
We increasingly rely on automated decision-making systems to search for information and make everyday choices. While concerns regarding bias and fairness in machine learning algorithms have high resonance, less addressed is the equally important question of to what extent we are handing our own role of agents over to artificial information-retrieval systems. This paper aims at drawing attention to this issue by considering what agency in decision-making processes amounts to. The main argument that will be proposed is that a system needs to be capable of reasoning in counterfactual terms in order for it to be attributed agency. To reach this step, automated system necessarily need to develop a stable and modular model of their environment. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. 'Climbing the Ladder: How Agents Reach Counterfactual Thinking', Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence 3: 555-560. ISBN 978-989-758-547-0, ISSN 2184-433X. |
Everyone Can Change a Musical Work
This paper explores how a new theory on the ontology of musical works, Musical Stage Theory, can address the problem of change in musical works. A natural consequence of the ontological framework of this theory is that musical works change intrinsically through a change in the sonic-structural properties of performances. From this a surprising consequence follows: everyone can change a musical work. Still, it seems that some changes matter more than others. The article offers a revisionary reply to this concern by arguing that normative change is not a change in the ontological nature of the work but rather in its authenticity conditions. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2022. 'Everyone Can Change a Musical Work', The British Journal of Aesthetics. 62(1): 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1093/aesthj/ayab003. |
Measuring Creativity: An Account of Natural and Artificial Creativity
Despite the recent upsurge of interest for the investigation on the topic of creativity, the question of how to measure creativity is arguably underdiscussed. The aim of this paper is to address this gap, proposing a multidimensional account of creativity which identifies problem-solving, evaluation, and naivety as measurable features that are common to every creative process. The benefits that result from the adoption of this model are twofold: integrating discussions on creativity in various domains and offering the tools to assess creativity across systems of different kinds. By situating creativity within this framework, I aim to contribute to a non-anthropocentric, more comprehensive understanding of the notion and to debates on natural and artificial creativity. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2021. ‘Measuring Creativity: An Account of Natural and Artificial Creativity’, European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-020-00313-w. |
Improvisation as Creative Performance
The main aim of this chapter is to counter the traditional ontological paradigm that sees work and performance as distinct entities, adopting instead improvisation as a model for the interrelationship between composition and performance. I will address how an independently motivated ontological theory, Musical Stage Theory (MST), can account for improvisation within its ontological framework, by shifting the focus from the product to the process and describing improvisation as a creative process that pervades many artistic activities. In the second part of the chapter, I present contemporary examples of the centrality of the performative dimension of artworks, describing improvisatory practices in art forms that emerge from the collaboration between humans and technology. As a byproduct of this discussion, I will argue how an analysis of improvisation in human-machine collaboration in the arts can help us also answer questions regarding creativity. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2021. ‘Improvisation as Creative Performance’, in Bertinetto, A. and Ruta, M. (eds.) Handbook of Philosophy and Improvisation in the Arts, London: Routledge. |
On the Relevance of Understanding for Creativity
Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications help humans accomplish many everyday tasks and we are increasingly in contact with its always improving technologies. However, research in AI has been hindered by biases and misconceptions that concern its possibilities and by the uncertainty and lack of clarity in respect to what does it mean for a machine to ‘learn’ or to ‘understand’. The aim of this paper is to discuss human and artificial understanding and to assess how state-of-the-art research fares in respect to the development of artificial systems capable of understanding. To do that, I first consider four notions that can help us in having a richer vision of what understanding amounts to: knowledge, grasp, problem-solving, and context sensitivity. In the central section of the paper, I identify two kinds of understanding that are necessary for creativity, a competence that current research in AI strives to reproduce in artificial systems. I then, discuss the impressive, but not completely satisfactory, achievements of Natural Language Processing, a branch of AI that is moving towards gaining a higher level of understanding. I close the paper by arguing how the current program of neurosymbolic AI is showing promising results in the progress toward achieving the desired level of understanding and creativity in machines. This program takes inspiration from the dual-model of the human mind proposed by Daniel Kahneman in his bestselling work Thinking Fast and Slow and it parallels the mechanisms that are necessary to develop not only a context-sensitive understanding, but also creative capabilities. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2021. 'On the Relevance of Understanding for Creativity’, Proceedings of AISB2021. |
Artificial Creativity and General Intelligence
It is hard to deny that the notions of creativity and intelligence are inherently connected. But what does this correlation amount to? Is creativity a necessary desideratum of intelligence? On the other hand, does the fact of being intelligent necessarily imply being creative as well? The aim of this paper is to explore these questions and to contribute to the discussion regarding the connections between the notions of creativity and intelligence. In order to do so, I draw on the results obtained from a study on the public perceptions and attitudes in relation to the use of AI in the creative sector conducted at the University of Nottingham. Through this discussion I aim to test the hypothesis that the key features of creativity correspond to aspects that are essential for the realization of Artificial General Intelligence, e.g. flexibility, domain knowledge, and common-sense. After having illustrated the parallels between the two concepts, I contend that while creativity is a crucial component of general intelligence, the constituents needed to build an AGI may not be sufficient to design creative artificial systems. I close the paper by tentatively suggesting how the motivations behind the discontent expressed by the participants against creative AI can be explained through the uncanny valley phenomenon. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2020. ‘Artificial Creativity and General Intelligence’, Journal of Science and Technology in the Arts 12(3): 84-99. https://doi.org/10.34632/jsta.2020.9481. |
Learning Through Creativity: How Creativity Can Help Machine Learning Achieving Deeper Understanding
In this paper, I address the difficult task of analysing the nature of creativity by suggesting a more objective way of defining it. In particular, I propose a minimal account of creativity as autonomous problem-solving process. This definition is aimed at providing a baseline that researchers working in different fields can agree on and that can then be refined on a case by case basis. Developing our insight on the nature of creativity is increasingly necessary in the light of recent developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence. In the second part of the paper, I discuss how an investigation on the main features of human creativity can support the advancement of machine learning models in their current areas of weakness, such as intuition, originality, innovation, and flexibility. I suggest how methods such as modelling the human brain or simulation can be useful to extract the main mechanisms underlying creative processes and to translate them to machine learning applications. This can eventually aid both the development of machine learning systems that achieve a deeper and more intuitive understanding and our exploration of human creativity. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2020. ‘Learning Through Creativity: How Creativity Can Help Machine Learning Achieving Deeper Understanding’, Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio 14(2), doi: 10.4396/AISB201904. |
Looking for Creativity: GANs as a Paradigm of Autonomy in Software for Music Composition
In this paper I discuss the impact of AI on one of the key topics in the philosophy of art: the nature of musical works. The question I will address is the following: ‘Can a computer create a musical work?’. Due to its complexity and subject-dependency, the concept of creativity eludes an objective definition and quantification. With the aim of finding a non-arbitrary way of measuring creativity, I individuate autonomy as a necessary feature exhibited by creative processes. I then investigate the case study of the generation of music by a new model of generative algorithms: Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). I claim that the use of GANs in software for music composition may grant the system a sufficient level of autonomy for deeming it able to create musical works. In addressing the inherent difference of GANs from other kinds of software used in algorithmic composition, I will compare their process of creation and the quality of their results with other, widely used, algorithms for music composition. I will conclude the paper by arguing that the aesthetically worse results obtained at present by GANs in the generation of music cannot be used as an argument against their creativity. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2020. ‘Looking for Creativity: GANs as a Paradigm of Autonomy in Software for Music Composition’, in Be My GAN: Arte e Intelligenza Artificiale, ed. by Alice Barale (Milano: Jaca Book). |
The Assumptions Behind Musical Stage Theory: A Reply to Letts
In this reply, I am not going to take up the cudgels for MST against Letts’s doubts. Rather, I will propose a partial retreat: the advantages advertised by MST are not absolute, their validity is instead dependent on the acceptance of MST’s pre-theoretic desiderata. This retreat gives me the opportunity to advocate for the legitimacy of these desiderata and to clarify the revisionary standpoint taken by MST in relation to the primacy of the performative aspect of music. This will hopefully help me also to respond to Letts’s doubts by motivating the relevance of a direct epistemological access to musical works and a contextual assessment of works-as-performances on the basis of these assumptions. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2020. ‘The Assumptions Behind Musical Stage Theory: A Reply to Letts’, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism78(3): 362-366. https://doi.org/10.1111/jaac.12742. |
Should Human Artists Fear AI? A Report on the Perception of Creative AI
The question of whether a machine can be creative has been at the center of many scholarly debates. But what does the public think about the possibility for AI to gain a place alongside human artists? This paper presents the results of a survey conducted at the University of Nottingham which investigated the public reception of the application of Artificial Intelligence to the creative sector. The study examined the attitudes and beliefs of participants to the prospect of a future scenario where machines create art alongside and in collaboration with humans. The responses, collected both through an online questionnaire and a focus group, reveal that participants do not exclude the possibility that in the medium-term AI may earn the attribute ‘creative’. Still, this does not mean that this scenario is welcomed. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2020. ‘Should Human Artists Fear AI? A Report on the Perception of Creative AI’, Proceedings of xCoAx2020, pp. 170-185. |
Can a Computer Create a Musical Work? Creativity and Autonomy of AI Software for Music Composition
In this paper I discuss the question “Can a computer create a musical work?” in the light of recent developments in AI music software generators. In attempting to provide an answer, further questions about the creativity and intentionality exhibited by AI will emerge. In the first part of the paper I argue that the question of whether a computer can be creative should be replaced by different questions. The notion of creativity is indeed too embedded with our subjective judgement of an idea or product ‘as’ creative. In the last section, I thus suggest to shift the focus of the inquiry from creativity to autonomy. I finally argue that the application of generative adversarial networks to music generators confers them a level of autonomy which is sufficient to deem them able to create musical works. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2020. ‘Can a Computer Create a Musical Work? Creativity and Autonomy of AI Software for Music Composition’, in Gouveia, Steven S. (ed.), The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration, Vernon Press. |
An Ontological Justification for Contextual Authenticity
In this paper I defend a contextualist interpretation of authenticity in musical performance: we judge a performance as authentic not in respect of a stable set of requirements but according to contextually determined factors. This solution is the natural outcome of an independently supported ontological account of musical works: Musical Stage Theory. The aim of the paper is to give new momentum to the debate concerning the notion of authenticity and to challenge a monistic interpretation of authenticity: there is not one authenticity but many. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2019. ‘An Ontological Justification for Contextual Authenticity’, The British Journal of Aesthetics 59(4): 413–427. |
Creative AI: Music Composition Programs as an Extension of the Composer’s Mind
In this paper I discuss the question “Can a computer create a musical work?” in the light of recent developments in AI music software generators. In attempting to provide an answer, further questions about the creativity and intentionality exhibited by AI will emerge. In the first part of the paper I argue that the question of whether a computer can be creative should be replaced by different questions. The notion of creativity is indeed too embedded with our subjective judgement of an idea or product ‘as’ creative. In the last section, I thus suggest to shift the focus of the inquiry from creativity to autonomy. I finally argue that the application of generative adversarial networks to music generators confers them a level of autonomy which is sufficient to deem them able to create musical works. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2018. ‘Creative AI: Music Composition Programs as an Extension of the Composer’s Mind’, in Müller, Vincent C. (ed.), Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2017, Berlin: Springer. |
Every Performance is a Stage: Musical Stage Theory as a Novel Account for the Ontology of Musical Works
This article defends Musical Stage Theory as a novel account of the ontology of musical works. Its main claim is that a musical work is a performance. The significance of this argument is twofold. First, it demonstrates the availability of an alternative, and ontologically tenable, view to well-established positions in the current debate on musical metaphysics. Second, it shows how the revisionary approach of Musical Stage Theory actually provides a better account of the ontological status of musical works. Cite as: Moruzzi, Caterina. 2018. ‘Every Performance is a Stage: Musical Stage Theory as a Novel Account for the Ontology of Musical Works’, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 76(3): 341-351. https://doi.org/10.1111/jaac.12579. |