UCLA 2025
(Cover Image from “The Game of Whispers” by Parag K. Mital / The Garden in the Machine, Inc. 2024.)
Course Description
This course explores the past, present, and future of how artists engage with digital media through its remix and adaptation of increasingly more automated algorithms.
Starting from early collage and montage practices, we’ll explore how artists have used cultural fragments as their medium to explore meaning through juxtaposition, appropriation, and détournement. We will then turn towards how computational methods enabled artists to explore such practices in increasingly surprisingly fidelity and magnitudes of data, leading to new aesthetics but also new questions surrounding its process and the underlying data. Finally we’ll speculate on the future of culture and machine learning in order to ask “Where is it all going?”.
Throughout, we will also extend the discussion into topics such as perception, augmentation, deep fakes, surveillance, privacy, automation, shifting labor markets, and ethical and legal considerations in order to provide a framework for how to engage with the machine learning tools we will be learning to use.
The course will aim to balance theory, background, computational practice, and peer discussion and will shift focus between visual media, text media, audio media, and simulated / procedural environments.
Previous Course
Please see here for the course materials for the course Cultural Automation with Machine Learning taught in 2023 at UCLA DMA.
Download Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus + Updated Course Schedule
| Week | Dates | Class Topic | Guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tues, April 1, 2025 | Lecture: Introduction, Critical Framework, and Cultural Automation Pt. I | |
| Thurs, April 3, 2025 | Lecture: Introduction, Critical Framework, and Cultural Automation Pt. II | ||
| Tues, April 8, 2025 | Lab: Student topic/reading presentations | ||
| 2 | Thurs, April 10, 2025 | Guest workshop: Introduction to Worldbuilding | |
| Tues, April 15, 2025 | Lab: Student research/concept presentations | ||
| 3 | Thurs, April 17, 2025 | Lecture: Generative Text | |
| Tues, April 22, 2025 | Lab: Group crit | ||
| 4 | Thurs, April 24, 2025 | Lecture: Generative Audio | |
| Tues, April 29, 2025 | Lab: Group crit | ||
| 5 | Thurs, May 1, 2025 | Lecture: Generative Images | |
| Tues, May 6, 2025 | Lab: Group crit | ||
| 6 | Thurs, May 8, 2025 | Lecture: Generative Video | |
| Tues, May 13, 2025 | Lab: Group crit | ||
| 7 | Thurs, May 15, 2025 | Lecture: Generative 3D | |
| Tues, May 20, 2025 | Lab: Group crit | ||
| 8 | Thurs, May 22, 2025 | Guest workshop: 3D / Generative Character Design | |
| Tues, May 27, 2025 | Project Day (work session) | ||
| 9 | Thurs, May 29, 2025 | Final Project Presentations | |
| Tues, June 3, 2025 | No class / exam week | ||
| 10 | Thurs, June 5, 2025 | No class / exam week |
Contacts
Instructor: Parag K. Mital
TA: TA Name
Studio Manager: Breanna Browning
Office Hours: 1 hour following Tuesday class; otherwise, by appointment.
Discord: discord link here
Week 1: Introduction and Critical Framework
Lecture: Introduction, Critical Framework, and Cultural Automation Pt. I
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Lecture: Introduction, Critical Framework, and Cultural Automation Pt. II
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Homework (Links, readings, and references)
Lab Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Topic: Copyright
- The Next Rembrandt
- A Convincing Rembrandt Painting Crafted With 3-D Printing : All Tech Considered : NPR
- OpenAI’s MuseNet generates AI music at the push of a button – The Verge
- AI Drake and The Weeknd Collab Submitted To GRAMMYs | Hypebeast
- Revealed: The Authors Whose Pirated Books Are Powering Generative AI – The Atlantic
- Getty Images Sues AI Company Over Hideous Frankenphotos (forbes.com)
- Getty Images lawsuit says Stability AI misused photos to train AI | Reuters
- US Supreme Court rejects computer scientist’s lawsuit over AI-generated inventions | Reuters
- As Fight Over A.I. Artwork Unfolds, Judge Rejects Copyright Claim – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- “Use of Artificial Intelligence to Determine Copyright Liability for Mu” by Shine Sean Tu (wvu.edu)
Topic: Deepfakes
- Deepnude: The Horrifying App Undressing Women
- Deepfake Porn Creator Deletes Internet Presence After Tearful ‘Atrioc’ Apology
- The People Onscreen Are Fake. The Disinformation Is Real.
- https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/01/business/pentagons-race-against-deepfakes/
- A deepfake video showing Volodymyr Zelenskyy surrendering worries experts : NPR
- Deepfake Technology: Assessing Security Risk | American University, Washington, D.C.
- Deepfakes Are Going To Wreak Havoc On Society. We Are Not Prepared (forbes.com)
- Deepfakes and international conflict (brookings.edu)
Topic: Impact on Creative Industries
- Google and Universal Music working on licensing voices for AI-generated songs | Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is A.I. Art Stealing from Artists? | The New Yorker
- How Generative AI Could Disrupt Creative Work (hbr.org)
- How AI Is Changing The Future Of Creative Enterprise (forbes.com)
- The Future of AI in Creative Industries: Opportunities and Challenges | by Abhishek Mishra | Medium
- AI is an opportunity for creative industries, says Bertelsmann boss | Financial Times (ft.com)
Topic: Bias and Inclusivity
- AI can be sexist and racist — it’s time to make it fair (nature.com)
- AI is biased. The White House is working with hackers to try to fix that : NPR
- Why it’s impossible to build an unbiased AI language model | MIT Technology Review
- Black Artists Say A.I. Shows Bias, With Algorithms Erasing Their History – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- AI in medicine need to counter bias, and not entrench it more : Shots – Health News : NPR
- Cognitive diversity-centred AI can improve social inclusion | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
- Can AI Increase Diversity On Tech Teams? The Jury Is Out (forbes.com)
- Facebook Pulls Its New ‘AI For Science’ Because It’s Broken and Terrible (vice.com)
Topic: Alignment
- Open AI | Our approach to alignment research
- AI Scientists: Safe and Useful AI?
- What is the alignment problem and how can it be solved?
Topic: Privacy Concerns
- Are my ChatGPT messages private? – The Washington Post
- OpenAI rolls out ‘incognito mode’ on ChatGPT | Reuters
- India bans TikTok, WeChat and dozens more Chinese apps – BBC News
- Why Countries Are Trying to Ban TikTok – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns – BBC News
- Know It All: AI And Police Surveillance : 1A : NPR
- Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy – United States Department of State
- The US Military Is Taking Generative AI Out for a Spin – Bloomberg
- In U.S.-China AI contest, the race is on to deploy killer robots (reuters.com)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMLsHI8aV0g
Topic: Information and Cultural Warfare – Misinformation
- AI presents political peril for 2024 with threat to mislead voters
- You Won’t Believe What Obama Says In This Video! 😉
- Dissecting the #PizzaGate Conspiracy Theories
- QAnon | ADL
- Tweeting through the Great Firewall
- Scientists found over 1,000 AI bots on X stealing selfies to create fake accounts
- Could AI swamp social media with fake accounts?
- AI is About to Make Social Media (Much) More Toxic
- AI Is Tearing Wikipedia Apart
- Mushroom pickers urged to avoid foraging books on Amazon that appear to be written by AI
Topic: Information and Cultural Warfare – Misinformation
- A Genocide Incited on Facebook, With Posts From Myanmar’s Military – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download
- Jacinda Ardern Consoles Families After New Zealand Shooting
- Social Media Misinformation and the Prevention of Political Instability and Mass Atrocities
- Meme Warfare: AI countermeasures to disinformation should focus on popular, not perfect, fakes
Topic: Violence, Hostility, and the Spread of Harmful Rhetorics
- A Genocide Incited on Facebook, With Posts From Myanmar’s Military – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download
- Jacinda Ardern Consoles Families After New Zealand Shooting
- Social Media Misinformation and the Prevention of Political Instability and Mass Atrocities
- Meme Warfare: AI countermeasures to disinformation should focus on popular, not perfect, fakes
Topic: AI in Film and TV
- Merchant: How Silicon Valley mind-set begat Hollywood’s strike – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
- AI is the wild card in Hollywood’s strikes. Here’s an explanation of its unsettling role | AP News
- Studios look for AI hires amid strikes by actors and writers – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
- Movie extras worry they’ll be replaced by AI. Hollywood is already doing body scans : NPR
- Artificial Intelligence Can Augment Film Production and Editing – Variety
- Exclusive: Watch the world premiere of the AI-generated short film The Frost. | MIT Technology Review
- AI Isn’t Hollywood’s Villain—It’s a Flawed Hero | WIRED
Topic: Risks of AI
- When A.I. Lies About You, There’s Little Recourse – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- The Illusion Of AI’s Existential Risk (noemamag.com)
- ‘The Godfather of AI’ Quits Google and Warns of Danger Ahead – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? “1F99C (acm.org)
- With GPT-4, dangers of ‘Stochastic Parrots’ remain, say researchers. No wonder OpenAI CEO is a ‘bit scared’ | The AI Beat | VentureBeat
Topic: Critical AI Guidelines
- A BLUEPRINT FOR AN AI BILL OF RIGHTS FOR EDUCATION
- Introducing Our AI Policy (kickstarter.com)
- Policies on AI – Twitter (X) Thread
- Teaching with AI | OpenAI
- Rutgers AI Council working document
Topic: Current Regulations
- AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio tells Congress global AI rules are needed – The Washington Post
- Oversight of A.I.: Principles for Regula… | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Stability AI letter to the US Senate
- OpenAI chief concerned about AI being used to compromise elections | Reuters
- Ensuring Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI
- FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration
- Despite Cheating Fears, Schools Repeal ChatGPT Bans – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Paper exams, chatbot bans: Colleges seek to ‘ChatGPT-proof’ assignments | AP News
- US state-by-state AI legislation snapshot | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (bclplaw.com)
- What could AI regulation in the US look like? (americanbar.org)
- The State of State AI Laws: 2023 – EPIC – Electronic Privacy Information Center
- Banning generative AI is not an option for Germany: minister – Nikkei Asia
- EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence | News | European Parliament (europa.eu)
- The AI Power Paradox: Can States Learn to Govern Artificial Intelligence—Before It’s Too Late?
- The FAIR Act: A New Right to Protect Artists in the Age of AI | Adobe Blog
Week 2: Introduction to Worldbuilding
Workshop
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Student presentations / group crit
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Week 3: Generative Text
Lecture: Generative Text
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Student presentations / group crit
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Week 4: Generative Audio
Lecture: Generative Audio
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Student presentations / group crit
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Week 5: Generative Images
Lecture: Generative Images
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Student presentations / group crit
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Week 6: Generative Video
Lecture: Generative Video
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Student presentations / group crit
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Week 7: Generative 3D
Lecture: Generative 3D
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Student presentations / group crit
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Week 8: 3d / Generative Character Design
Guest Workshop
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Project Day (work session)
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Week 9: Final Project Due / Project Presentations
Thursday, May 29, 2025