Talk by Maggie Boden 7.30 pm at the Lighthouse Media Centre, Brighton followed by works in progress at Sumo Bar, Brighton.

Internationally renowned University of Sussex philosopher and psychologist Maggie Boden OBE gave a talk entitled Creativity and Computers. She considered what it means for an idea to be creative and gave an overview of the key issues in using computers to model creativity. This is the abstract for her talk:

A creative idea is one that is new, surprising, and valuable. Broadly speaking, there are three different ways of coming up with creative ideas, whether in art or in science. I call them combinational creativity, exploratory creativity, and transformational creativity.

I'll describe them, and give examples.Then, I'll ask which types of creativity are easy/difficult to model in computers, and why.

The most difficult thing in modelling creativity in computers isn't generating the new ideas, but evaluating them. This isn't because 'computers can't have values.' Rather, it's due to our own difficulties in identifying our aesthetic values (some of which are subtle, and some of which are shifting), and in expressing them clearly. That's partly why the interactive use of computers is likely to be more fruitful than full automation.

After the talk there were three works in progress downstairs in the Sumo bar:

nGen.1, an audio-visual installation piece by Drew and Theresa Gartland-Jones;

Tuning Pask's Ear, a video prelude by Andy Webster and Jon Bird showing early ideas for a planned electrochemical piece inspired by the work of the eccentric 1950s cybernetician, Gordon Pask;

fossil, a 3D film by Brian McClave.