You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art? : All Tech Considered : NPR

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His latest project? A portrait-painting robot. Its paintings "dance on the edge" between creations by humans and machines, he says.</b> </div> <div id="wrapper"> <header class="contentheader contentheader--one"><div class="branding branding--custom"> <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/"><picture><source srcset="https://media.npr.org/branding/sections/alltechconsidered/branding_icon-f828a20a6a634ee8a7094e48c5bb1f45be3aadc6-s1000-c100.webp" type="image/webp" data-format="webp" /><source srcset="https://media.npr.org/branding/sections/alltechconsidered/branding_icon-f828a20a6a634ee8a7094e48c5bb1f45be3aadc6-s1000-c100.png" type="image/png" /><img src="https://media.npr.org/branding/sections/alltechconsidered/branding_icon-f828a20a6a634ee8a7094e48c5bb1f45be3aadc6-s1000-c100.png" class="branding__image-icon" alt="All Tech Considered" /></picture><div class="branding__inner"> <h2 class="branding__title branding__title--custom-text"><b>All Tech</b> Considered</h2> <b class="branding__mini-teaser">Tech, Culture and Connection</b> </div>  </a> </div>  </header> <section id="main-section"><article class="story story-blogpost"><a id="mainContent"></a><div class="slug-wrap"> <h3 class="slug"> <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/195149875/innovation">Innovation</a> </h3> </div> <div class="storytitle"> <h1>You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art?</h1> <input type="hidden" id="title458347976" value="You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art?" /> <input type="hidden" id="shortTitle458347976" value="You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art?" /> <input type="hidden" id="modelFullUrl458347976" value="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/12/06/458347976/you-can-give-a-robot-a-paintbrush-but-does-it-create-art" /> </div>  <div id="story-meta" class="story-meta has-byline"> <div class="story-meta__one"> <div class="story-meta__one-inner"> <div class="dateblock"> <time datetime="2015-12-06T09:08:00-05:00"> <span class="date">December 6, 2015</span><span class="time">9:08 AM ET</span> </time> </div> </div>  </div>  <div class="story-meta__two"> <div id="storybyline" class="storybyline-wrap linkLocation"> <div class="bucketwrap byline"> <div class="byline-container--block"> <p class="byline__name--block">By </p> <div class="byline byline--block" aria-label="Byline"> <p class="byline__name byline__name--block"> Allie Caren </p> </div> </div> </div>  </div> </div>  </div>  <div id="storytext" class="storytext storylocation linkLocation"> <div id="res458367333" class="bucketwrap video youtube-video large"> <div class="video-wrap"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PDW9A-CN2lk?rel=0" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> </div> <div class="credit-caption externalasset"> <b class="credit"> <b class="source">YouTube</b> </b> </div> </div> <p>Whether you play an instrument, sing or sculpt, "everyone does some kind of art," Pindar Van Arman says.</p> <p>Van Arman is a painter, but he's also a software designer. He has built a handful of machines and worked on a DARPA challenge team in California to build a self-driving car.</p> <p>His latest project? A portrait-painting robot.</p> <p>The concept is simple: A user uploads a picture, and the robot (a.k.a."bitPaintr") paints it.</p> <p>The added bonus? Users can remotely jump into the software and join the robot to help it paint, whether that user is in the same room or 3,000 miles away.</p> <div id="res458378462" class="bucketwrap image large"> <div class="imagewrap has-source-dimensions" data-crop-type="" style=" --source-width: 3000; --source-height: 2002; " > <picture> <source srcset="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=1100&c=85&f=webp" class="img" type="image/webp" data-template="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s={width}&c={quality}&f={format}" data-format="webp" /> <source srcset="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=1100&c=85&f=jpeg" class="img" type="image/jpeg" data-template="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s={width}&c={quality}&f={format}" data-format="jpeg" /> <img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=1100&c=85&f=jpeg" class="img" alt="" data-template="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s={width}&c={quality}&f={format}" data-format="jpeg" /> </picture> <div class="enlarge-options"> <a class="enlargelink" href="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=2600&c=100&f=jpeg">Enlarge this image</a> </div> </div> <div class="credit-caption"> <div class="caption-wrap"> <div class="caption" aria-label="Image caption"> <p> Pindar Van Arman in his studio with paintings created by his bitPaintr portrait-painting robot. <b class="credit" aria-label="Image credit"> Craig Hudson </b> <b class="hide-caption"><b>hide caption</b></b> </p> </div> <b class="toggle-caption"><b>toggle caption</b></b> </div> <span class="credit" aria-label="Image credit"> Craig Hudson </span> </div> <div class="enlarge_measure"> <div class="img_wrap"> <picture> <source data-original="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=2600&c=100&f=webp" type="image/webp"> <source data-original="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=2600&c=100&f=jpeg" type="image/jpeg"> <img data-original="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/03/pindar-van-arman-edit_custom-b0a04c1504ca2a45ee905a0e5b592e65d2d63f1c.jpg?s=2600&c=100&f=jpeg" alt="" /> </picture> </div> </div> <div class="enlarge_html"> <div class="image_data"> <p class="caption">Pindar Van Arman in his studio with paintings created by his bitPaintr portrait-painting robot.</p> <span class="credit" aria-label="Image credit"> Craig Hudson </span> </div> </div> </div> <p>BitPaintr's purpose isn't to <em>replace</em> the painter, but to <em>help</em> the painter — like a painting assistant. This is Van Arman's fifth robot in 10 years. Earlier versions included bulkier devices that produced a simpler painting and painting that used pre-written algorithms or followed user-generated coordinates that took too long.</p> <p>Van Arman, 41, says <a href="http://bitpaintr.com/">bitPaintr</a> paints totally on its own — as long as you want it to — and adds that it has developed its own style.</p> <p>He likes how it's hard to distinguish whether bitPaintr's paintings, which start at $50, were created by a human or a robot. He says they "dance on the edge" of something in between.</p> <aside id="ad-backstage-wrap" class="ad-wrap backstage" aria-label="advertisement"> <div class="ad-header "><span>Sponsor Message</span></div> <div id="ad-backstage-News_Technology" class="ad-config ad-backstage has-refresh-enabled" data-ad-config='{"network":"\/6735\/","site":{"desktop":"n6735.NPR","mobile":"n6735.NPRMOBILE"},"zone":"News_Technology","targets":{"testserver":"false","isPodcastEpisode":"false","storyId":"458347976","agg":["102920358"],"blog":"102920358"},"location":"backstage","deferred":false,"isBetweenContent":true,"overflowCount":null,"hasRefreshEnabled":true,"isOutstreamVideoEnabled":true}'></div> <div class="ad-footer "></div> </aside> <p>Van Arman, of Tysons Corner, Va., adds that he was never able to fully grasp his own, unique style as a painter.</p> <p>"But my robot can," he says.</p> <div id="res458367472" class="bucketwrap video youtube-video large"> <div class="video-wrap"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bY9bUuOIJhQ?rel=0" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> </div> <div class="credit-caption externalasset"> <b class="credit"> <b class="source">YouTube</b> </b> </div> </div> <p>Though Van Arman is influenced by recent innovators like Matthew Stein of <a href="http://faculty.rwu.edu/mstein/verbiage/jar_stein.pdf">The PumaPaint Project</a> and Ken Goldberg's <a href="http://www.ieor.berkeley.edu/~goldberg/garden/Ars/">The Telegarden</a>, robotic painting first came into the picture in the early 1970s.</p> <p>It started with <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/cohen.html">AARON</a>, software written by artist Harold Cohen, and has been evolving ever since.</p> <div id="res458353382" class="bucketwrap internallink insettwocolumn inset2col "> <div class="bucket img"> <a class="imagewrap" id="featuredStackSquareImage455507215" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/11/11/455507215/how-can-robots-learn-new-tasks-practice-practice-practice" data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"recirculation","action":"story_recirculation_click","clickType":"inset box","clickUrl":"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/alltechconsidered\/2015\/11\/11\/455507215\/how-can-robots-learn-new-tasks-practice-practice-practice"}' ><picture><source srcset="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s=100&c=15&f=jpeg" data-original="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg" data-template="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s={width}&c={quality}&f={format}" data-format="webp" class="img lazyOnLoad" type="image/webp" /><source srcset="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s=100&c=15&f=jpeg" data-original="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg" data-template="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s={width}&c={quality}&f={format}" data-format="jpeg" class="img lazyOnLoad" type="image/jpeg" /><img src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s=100&c=15&f=jpeg" data-original="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s=100&c=100&f=jpeg" data-template="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/11/10/palca-robot-baxter_sq-0e567f3f6ccafa0e1112ee152e81f2d4623f96c0.jpg?s={width}&c={quality}&f={format}" data-format="jpeg" class="img lazyOnLoad" alt="How Can Robots Learn New Tasks? Practice, Practice, Practice" loading="lazy" /></picture></a> <div class="bucketblock"> <h3 class="slug"><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/">All Tech Considered </a></h3> <h3><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/11/11/455507215/how-can-robots-learn-new-tasks-practice-practice-practice" data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"recirculation","action":"story_recirculation_click","clickType":"inset box","clickUrl":"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/alltechconsidered\/2015\/11\/11\/455507215\/how-can-robots-learn-new-tasks-practice-practice-practice"}' >How Can Robots Learn New Tasks? Practice, Practice, Practice</a></h3> </div>  </div>  </div>  <p>So what is creativity, then, if a robot with a paintbrush can be — or appear to be — just as creative as a human with a paintbrush?</p> <p>Mark Riedl, an associate professor at the Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing, says it depends on how you define creativity and its bounds.</p> <p>"Anything that produces anything or solves a problem is undergoing a creative process. Solving a math problem is a creative process," he says. "[It's] not what most people think about when you ask whether computers are creative or not."</p> <p>He says most people wouldn't think a GPS system is creative just because it found a new route home from work, but in reality, it is.</p> <p>Riedl says there is creativity and Creativity ("small c" and "big c").</p> <aside id="ad-secondary-wrap" class="ad-wrap secondary" aria-label="advertisement"> <div class="ad-header "><span>Sponsor Message</span></div> <div id="ad-secondary-News_Technology" class="ad-config ad-secondary has-refresh-enabled" data-ad-config='{"network":"\/6735\/","site":{"desktop":"NPRSecondary","mobile":"NPRMobileSecondary"},"zone":"News_Technology","targets":{"testserver":"false","isPodcastEpisode":"false","storyId":"458347976","agg":["102920358"],"blog":"102920358"},"location":"secondary","deferred":false,"isBetweenContent":true,"overflowCount":null,"hasRefreshEnabled":true,"isOutstreamVideoEnabled":false}'></div> <div class="ad-footer "></div> </aside> <p>He says "creativity" has to do with everyday activity: the little things that we do hundreds of times in our daily lives; the things that <em>could</em><strong><em> </em></strong>be creative, but usually aren't.</p> <div id="res458353355" class="bucketwrap internallink mediapromo primary"> <h4 class="internallink__slug">Music</h4> <h2 class="internallink__title">A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn</h2> <article id="res453072651" class="bucketwrap resaudio" aria-label="audio-module"><div class="audio-module"> <h4 class="audio-module-title">A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn</h4> <div class="audio-module-controls-wrap" data-audio='{"uid":"453072650:453072651","available":true,"duration":61,"title":"A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn","audioUrl":"https:\/\/ondemand.npr.org\/anon.npr-mp3\/npr\/me\/2015\/10\/20151030_me_a_robot_orchestra_grows_in_brooklyn.mp3?d=61&e=453072650&t=progseg&seg=10&p=3&sc=siteplayer","storyUrl":"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2015\/10\/30\/453072650\/a-robot-orchestra-grows-in-brooklyn","slug":"Music","program":"Morning Edition","affiliation":"","song":"","artist":"","album":"","track":0,"type":"segment","subtype":"other","skipSponsorship":false,"hasAdsWizz":false,"isStreamAudioType":false}' data-audio-metrics='[]'> <div class="audio-module-controls"> <a class="audio-module-listen" href="https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2015/10/20151030_me_a_robot_orchestra_grows_in_brooklyn.mp3?d=61&e=453072650&t=progseg&seg=10&p=3&sc=siteplayer&aw_0_1st.playerid=siteplayer"> <b class="audio-module-listen-inner"> <b class="audio-module-listen-icon icn-play"></b> <b class="audio-module-listen-text"> <b class="audio-module-cta"> Listen </b> <b class="audio-module-listen-duration"> <span>· </span> <span>1:01</span> </b> </b> </b> </a> <time class="audio-module-duration" datetime="P1M,1S"> <span class="audio-module-duration__initial-value">1:01</span> </time> </div> </div> <div class="audio-module-tools"> <button class="audio-module-tools-toggle" data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"audio","action":"audio_open_more_options","storyId":"453072650","mediaId":"453072651","title":"A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn","type":"ondemand"}' > <b class="icn-toggle"></b> <b class="label">Toggle more options</b> </button> <ul class="audio-module-more-tools"> <li class="audio-tool audio-tool-download"><a href="https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2015/10/20151030_me_a_robot_orchestra_grows_in_brooklyn.mp3?d=61&e=453072650&t=progseg&seg=10&p=3&sc=siteplayer&aw_0_1st.playerid=siteplayer" data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"audio","action":"audio_download","storyId":"453072650","mediaId":"453072651","title":"A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn","type":"ondemand"}' ><b class="icn-download"></b><b class="audio-tool-label">Download</b></a> </li> <li class="audio-tool audio-tool-embed" > <button data-embed-url="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/453072650/453072651" data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"audio","action":"audio_embed","storyId":"453072650","mediaId":"453072651","title":"A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn","type":"ondemand"}' ><b class="button-inner"><b class="icn-embed"></b><b class="audio-tool-label">Embed</b></b></button> <div class="audio-embed-overlay"> <button class="btn-close"></button> <label class="embed-label"> <b class="audio-embed-overlay__icon"></b> <b class="label">Embed</b> <input class="embed-url embed-url-no-touch" readonly value="<iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/453072650/453072651" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"></iframe>"> </label> <b class="embed-url embed-url-touch"> <code><b class="punctuation"><</b>iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/453072650/453072651" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"></code> </b> </div> </li> <li class="audio-tool audio-tool-transcript"> <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/453072650" data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"audio","action":"audio_click_transcript","storyId":"453072650","mediaId":"453072651","title":"A Robot Orchestra Grows In Brooklyn","type":"ondemand"}' > <b class="icn-transcript"></b> <b class="audio-tool-label">Transcript</b> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </article> </div>  <p>To be "Creative" is to have a spark and imagination that people get credit for on a societal level, he says — the Picassos and the Mozarts of the world; the people who have "produced something that's taken on this additional level of meaning."</p> <p>Riedl says what robots create is far from human-level quality art, but he sees robots entering the creative process as a positive thing.</p> <p>"It's my sense that we, as creative beasts, want the computers to keep up with us," he says.</p> <p>And thanks to innovators like Van Arman, it seems like they will.</p> <p>Although his friends joke that he has invented a "really expensive, slow, bad printer," Van Arman says teaching a machine how to be creative has helped him get to the bottom of what creativity is — and appreciate it.</p> <p>"When you're trying to teach a machine to do something that's easy for humans, it really makes you sit back and see what humans are doing," he says.</p> <p>Van Arman says he hopes to have a traveling exhibition in the near future.</p> </div> <div class="tags"> <ul> <li><a class="tag tag--story"href="https://www.npr.org/tags/128216998/robots">robots</a></li> <li><a class="tag tag--story"href="https://www.npr.org/tags/129449245/painting">painting</a></li> <li><a class="tag tag--story"href="https://www.npr.org/tags/133775819/artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</a></li> <li><a class="tag tag--story"href="https://www.npr.org/tags/351144239/creativity">creativity</a></li> <li><a class="tag tag--story"href="https://www.npr.org/tags/458352455/interactive-computing">interactive computing</a></li> </ul> </div>  <div class="share-tools share-tools--secondary" aria-label="Share tools"> <ul> <li class="share-tools__service share-tools__service--facebook"><button class="fbStory458347976" data-share-facebook='{"storyId": "458347976" }' data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"share","action":"share","clickName":"facebook"}' ><b class="share-tools__service-name">Facebook</b></button></li> <li class="share-tools__service share-tools__service--flipboard"><button class="story458347976" data-share-flipboard='{"storyId": "458347976" }' data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"share","action":"share","clickName":"flipboard"}' ><b class="share-tools__service-name">Flipboard</b></button></li> <li class="share-tools__service share-tools__service--email"><button class='share-tools__email-link' data-story-id='458347976' data-metrics-ga4='{"category":"share","action":"share","clickName":"email"}' ><b class="share-tools__service-name">Email</b></button></li> </ul> </div>  <div id="newsletter-acquisition-callout-data" data-newsletter="{"newsletterId":"body-electric","title":"Body Electric","marketingHeader":"Sign Up for the Body Electric Challenge","frequency":"","shortDescription":"Our bodies are adapting and changing to meet the demands of the Information Age. 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You Can Give A Robot A Paintbrush, But Does It Create Art? : All Tech Considered : NPR