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How will AGI change the way we design and create culture

Watching the new documentary on the company, founders and achievements of DeepMind, I had some thoughts I’d like to capture. The doc. is well produced and a good way to gain general understanding of what AI and AGI are, the work that goes into building them and the things they have done with it so far.

I did miss a mayor component to the story, which is the energy consumption needed for all this. They do talk about compute power and how they constantly don’t have enough of that, but that’s not the same. Also you could argue, as the founder does to himself, that using energy for menial and useless tasks is perhaps more the problem (and potentially the reason why its such a big problem, as the whole world is now using overly capable AI machines to do mundane and arguably useless tasks for them). If used well, the energy usage could actually be very efficient when used on solutions to issues that can solve a multitude of problems. Its in the eye of the beholder as to which this energy consumption is justifiable I guess.

To get to the thoughts I had; at some point, 2/3 way into the documentary, you see a shot of the Big Bin (on of many London themed b-roll shots) and I was looking at the architectural design and decorative decisions made in that. It was at a point in the documentary where they talked about the speed of acceleration (in development or output) of these machines they are making. Where does speed sit in the development of culture and society? Building a machine (or robot) that can run the legs out from underneath its body – effectively running faster than it can cary itself – is undeniably faster than before seemed possible. But in which practice is this useful? I think this is the question to be asked with these new technologies. With a complex problem, where an AGI can accelerate problem solving to an unimaginable speed or scale, it seems more then useful to do so (although even when writing this I realise that it’s very hard to define which problems deserve this solution more then others).

Design

Going back to design, as the Big Ben got me thinking about that; what does acceleration in design and image creation mean for our cultures and the societies we have build around them? Something like the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, but also the Birds Nest in Beijing or the WTC in New York; all architecture (as is for now the stand-in for anything designed in this line of thought) has been designed and built in a timespan that is human. Particularly with architecture, from design to construction, it takes a long time. Within this time a certain aesthetic can be imagined, created and constructed, but also lived with. Throughout history we have changed our aesthetically preferences in design, but we have also been able to look back at designs from the past and taken inspiration or learnings from that. The Big Ben looks a certain way because it was made in a certain time when certain values and skills were prevalent (and others not yet discovered or accepted).

If AI or AGI accelerates this process, what does that mean for our understanding of ourselves and the cultures we create and the societies we inhibit? If a machine can come up with ever more solutions – technical or superficial, they will both have a certain aesthetic, so the solutions are also aesthetic and therefor a design solution – and at a pace that makes these solutions change and adjust increasingly faster (more frequent) then we as people or as a society can comprehend or get used to; what will that lead to? Will a definition or understanding of culture still be possible? Or will everything just inevitably become a crab (a thought that in general has been spinning in my mind about many things lately).

These are questions I don’t have an answer to other than; I’d like to see a world in which cultures are unique and diverse because they project lives lived differently and uniquely. This is what makes us human and what makes it inspiring and energetic to be alive in this world.

Another source that has been very interesting (found on the same day as the movie) is this podcast episode by NYT Critics at Large. It poses some more interesting questions in relation to the subject of culture and the arts. It made me think also of this video I have seen recently of someone kicking a rock down the road until it becomes a sphere. The more you amalgamate information and knowledge that is already out there, the more it will evolve into something that has little edge or discrepancy. Life IS interesting because sometimes we need to figure things out ourselves and come to conclusions which others had already made. AI and AGI in the end are just really really good amalgamators of information and very efficient conclusion makers. Most things have been done before; not knowing can hinder your growth or it can stimulate it, it depends on your situation.

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Colliding sources of inspiration –Music, fashion & cultures

Since I was a teenage boy, exploring music for the first time, I have been into hip-hop and rap. At first not understanding the lyrics as my English wasn’t at all developed yet, it was the beats that grabbed my attention and spoke to me profoundly. And although I’m more and more opposed to the nastiness in the lyricism within this genre, I can’t seem to disconnect myself from this deep inner connection I have with the strong beat that hip-hop is inextricably linked to.

We always cycled to the library in my hometown, my mum brother and I, on a Saturday morning. In an era when the internet was on the cusp of bursting into the mainstream, the library was still the main source of inspiration and exploration. I loved the CD section, which was a prime source of music exploration. I picked albums with covers that spoke to me and asked if I could listen to them (always grabbing the 10 cd’s maximum allowed at a time). But also the floor for kids and teenagers, which had books on a wide array of topics, and books often contained lots of pictures, speaking strongly to my dyslexic self. Here I browsed, letting myself become into contact with unexpected and new subjects. I strongly remember a book on skateboarding (a sort of step by step guide to learning how to skateboard, but in this fluor 90’s style) and comic books (which I got sucked into deep as well). It is in this library where I first came into contact with the book “The Gentleman”, which became a seminal piece in my understanding of style, clothing and dress. The book explains early on in its pages that “we can’t teach you how to behave like a gentleman, but we can show you how to dress and compose yourself like one”.

Next came my interest in fashion. Through this library book I started to understand the role clothing plays in expressing one-self and what (personal) style meant. Heritage brands and their products also were featured in it and spoke to my imagination strongly (like Louis Vuitton or Ralph Lauren). Through an exhibition in the local art gallery (Groninger Museum) on/by Marc Newson, I became aware of design in a wider context. Marc Newson worked with G-Star and had his own collection there, broadening my view of what design in clothing meant.

Since then I have build on these early moments of inspiration and have had many moments more, too many to describe here (only mentioning Blend, CODE and Fantastic Man magazines as they have played mayor roles). Fashion is one of my main creative interests in this world and hip-hop is still one of my main sources of music, both classic and modern interpretations of it.

Pharrell & Nigo’s LV

Watching the LV FW25 show and collection was very exciting, inspiring and moving somehow. It brings together these early sources of inspiration and memories of moments that mattered to me in my life journey. It speaks to me even on two more profound levels; as I dream of creating a brand which connects to different cultures and backgrounds, the collaboration between these two man strongly speaks to that. Seeing this brotherly friendship between Pharrell and Nigo reminds me also of my own friendship with Nathan (RIP) as we both had different cultural backgrounds too, but found each other in the things that inspired, motivated and moved us. There was always a certain joy and pleasure in our friendship and our way of connecting on things like music, skateboarding and style, something I see reflected in Pharrell and Nigo’s friendship and miss a lot for myself.

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Archive: Moving towards an understanding

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. … What is soft is strong.

― Laozi

China has spend much of the last 300 years lurching from one disaster to another. From military crisis to crisis of identity. Yet, perhaps because China’s past is so full of loss and it’s future is so uncertain, many artists seem passionate to preserve their Chinese sense of identity.

Andrew Graham-Dixon in the BBC 4 documentary series Art of China (2014), SE1 E3

Although Andrew’s quote focuses on artists who work in the field of traditional Chinese art (with it’s ancient background which is still highly appreciated as an art-form and practice), it is also applicable to modern Chinese art. Modern Chinese artists often show their culture in a very honest way. Chinese people have a big sense of community and although there might be inequality, anger and things that need changing; they always feel strongly related to their own culture and country.

Chinese art is growing towards a more abstract practice. But still it relates itself to the country’s origins and culture (seen for example in the work of Ai Weiwei and Song Dong). Referencing its own cultural background, you often find in their work comments or a call for change. The culture of China, its origins and its rigidness towards change, are solid like a rock. Its embedded in peoples minds and souls. Moving slowly forward but not forgetting their past. Modern (Chinese) art however, is fluid like water. Wanting to go forward and moving quickly. It makes people nationally and internationally aware of China’s current position and its potential. Perhaps modern Chinese art can wear away (smooth) a rigid rocks and make change happen. At the same time, modern Chinese art comes forth out of its tradition. Its part of the same culture. It doesn’t want to wear off the rock it is made of. It shapes/reshapes itself but stays true to its origin.

Another perspective found in the BBC series, is that on capitalism: Perhaps there exists a thought that China is becoming more western and westernised. But seen in the following quote and connecting that with the previous statement, you could say that neither art nor culture in China are changing. Rather they are developing.

After all, what could be more Chinese than worrying about materialism. Chinese thinkers have been worrying about that for more than 2000 years. And the tiger economy is hardly new [referring to an artwork shown by Xu Bing]. Capitalism is not a Western import, but a Chinese invention. Visit the financial hearth of Shanghai, gaze up at it’s towering monuments to getting and spending, and what do you see? A bold new skyline, yes; but expressing an ancient Chinese impulse to make money. Modern Shanghai is just another version of Emperor Qinzong’s city of Kaifeng, immortalised in the Qingming scroll [referring to the artwork Qingming Shanghe Tu by Zhang Zeduan], where paper money changed hands, back in the 11th century. It’s just another version of Emperors Qianlong’s Prosperous Suzhou with its 260 shops.

John Tamny in a Forbes article (22 January 2025)
Found teared-up 100 RMB note on the street in Hunan province

Developing, moving forward with links to its past and staying true to its origin: I have experienced this myself during my time in the country. China is nothing like a western world and not in any way moving towards becoming westernised. China is a country with a very unique culture. I’m interested in understanding more of this and I see the importance of showing it and trying to explain it to others. China does not need to become more western – The west should rather become more understanding of other cultures, including China. By looking at objects of daily life, current culture (its origins and histories) I hope to provide a more complete perspective and understanding of China.