Questions about the overlap between art and science touch something deep about being human. I believe that Art is a different way of knowing about the world from Science. Most importantly it is not reducible to science. I don’t think we learn things from Shakespeare because it’s somehow hardwired into our neurological arrangement or it satisfies some kind of evolutionary biological imperative.  We human beings are quite remarkable and there are many different ways we can know things about the world.

There is a lot of talk these days about AI replacing humans at just about every task. I am, generally, skeptical of these claims even though I use AI a lot for my research as an astrophysicist. While I am profoundly impressed by what these tools can do, if you pay attention it becomes pretty clear that, ultimately, they are just a tool. There is no one “in there" who can recover even a fraction of what makes human beings unique.

Let me give you a case in point that lives in the midst of those questions about Art and Science. Let me give you, if you can handle it, Atarashii Gakko!

I could tell you that Atarashii Gakko! is a Japanese band consisting of 4 girls wearing school uniforms playing everything from punk rock to hip-hop to jazz, all the while performing a kind of sharp, clean contemporary dance that would make the choreography department at Juilliard swoon. I could tell you that but it still would not describe what’s going on with these four artists. It’s best you watch the video below.

I was led to the band in the usual way, through the YouTube algorithm. I think it might have given me one of their videos because I sometimes watch stuff about modern dance.  I’m sure there are other bands that I could’ve used as an example but this one deeply inspired me.  Now I’m kind of obsessed

“Atarashii Gakko” means “Leaders of the New School” and their mission is to challenge the rigid social norms in Japan. For us, today, it’s their pure creativity that matters. There is no way an AI could come up with what Atarashii Gakko! are putting out. Sure you could tell your favorite AI “make me a video of 4 girls in Japanese sailor-fuku uniforms doing a punk rock song with modern dance choreography in a way that’s both threatening and cute”. But, that’s the point. You, a human being, would have to come up with that bizarre idea. Also, I doubt that your AI would come up with anything half as awesome as what Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon produced through their collaboration.

I’ll note that I wouldn’t characterize Atarashii Gakko! as being “boundary pushing”.  I think this is what makes them interesting. They’re not mashing up some pre-existing set of genres.  This is important because I think it’s what’s really different about us vs AI.  A machine can only take what it’s been trained on and then extrapolate. Atarashii Gakko! lives on another axis. There is an urgency in the band music and choreography which is expressing their own experience in the world.  In a sense, they have an itch that they need to scratch. Machines do not have itches and so they never need to scratch them.

There is a lot to be excited about as AI opens amazing frontiers in what human beings can do. There is also lot to be worried about as AI get shoved down everyone’s throats in the name of “productivity”.

One thing, however, is clear. Human creativity exceeds bounds and boundaries in ways AI will never be able to reproduce on its own. We can thank the women of Atarashii Gakko! for reminding us of just what makes being human in all its creativity so special.

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PS If you have specific questions or issues you want me to address leave a comment on the website or email me at [email protected]

PPS I more limited version of these ideas appeared in my column for Forbes

PPPS I could not get this proof-read so please excuse typos etc.

— Adam Frank 🚀