Malou van der Veld is a interdisciplinary designer and researcher. She unpacks the relationship between technology, nature and society by uncovering power structures and adopting a non-anthropocentric point of view. Malou explores the forgotten stakeholders in her work, through sound, film and performance. Infused with humour and absurdity, Malou aims to bring these ideas beyond traditional art spaces, making them accessible to citizens rather than conventional audiences. She recently obtained an MA from Central Saint Martins, Material Futures.
Throughout her academic journey, Malou has hosted radio shows, engaged in live or hybrid music performances, and adopted a growing passion for integrating music into her practice. Her creative research and storytelling shape her practice, evident in residencies at het Hem in Amsterdam and performances for 4D SOUND, and the Creative Computing Lab in London, showcasing a transition from static design to a more immersive and performative approach.
Website and links: https://malouvanderveld.com , https://www.instagram.com/malougistics/
Project:
Resynthesis of Sound
Artists experimenting and utilizing AI carry a sense of responsibility, as they are not autonomous artists while feeding into the bigger web of interests. They carry the paradigms of tech industries, government bodies and the anthropocene. So how do we create methodologies and techniques to create a safer and more transparent space to explore the possibilities and implications of artificial intelligence?
The starting point of this research was 'Hybrid Resonance', a performance project including AI powered musical instruments. The goal was to create an AI project, separated from corporate, biased structures. Malou, in collaboration with maker and designer Teodoro Rava, created their own data set, used open source machine learning software and set up a local server. Elaborating on the concept of a 'local independent AI', the aim is to create a methodology for artists to foster artistic expression within AI, while aligning with ethical and sustainable practices.
The subsequent part of the project, which will be the scope of this research residency, aims to explore what processes could lead to transparency. Could demystifying and uncovering the flaws and glitches within the AI systems, contribute to the users' and public understanding of the technological processes behind machine learning?
AI re-synthesis of timber is the attempt of the AI -trained on a large data set of a specific sound- to recreate the timbre of that sound. Can AI re-synthesis give us insight on how a computer processes sound? How does it differ from human perception?
Sonic perception is inherently understood and affected by cultural background and personal histories. So where does this perception come in when AI processes sound data? Music, with its profound cultural and emotional significance, could uncover perceptional differences between individuals but also between human and AI.
Artists who experiment with AI should take back agency, starting by positioning themselves as creators rather than 'users'. Understanding AI's core processes is a necessary step to reaching autonomy. This urges the need to fully understand the autonomy of an AI-ecosystem, from computer perception and data processing, to the planetary effects of AI. The goal is to critically asses how we foster our morals while experimenting with the limits and abilities of AI?