This algorithm helps Minnesotans write poetry together
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A new interactive exhibit in Minneapolis is reimagining predictive text as a tool for creative connection.
“Counter-Algorithmic Poetics,” created by poet and AI engineer Dana Chiueh, invites visitors to respond to writing prompts at computer stations. As they type, related phrases appear on their screens. But unlike conventional predictive text, those suggestions are not generated by artificial intelligence. They were written by other visitors.
Chiueh designed an algorithm that identifies related fragments and gives participants the option to incorporate their neighbors’ words into their own writing. The contributions will ultimately be assembled into a communal poem and projected on the exhibit wall.
“It’s sort of this communal, collaborative experiment in writing,” Chiueh said. “The final piece will be composed of all of these fragments that people have contributed.”
Chiueh said the project responds to the sense of powerlessness many people feel as technology becomes more embedded in everyday life. She wants to demonstrate that digital tools can be small-scale, handmade and designed around community values rather than profit.
“I've noticed a lot of people around me feel really disempowered by the technology that's encroaching on everyday life, like from our phones to doing meetings on Zoom,” said Chiueh. “And people just feel powerless to contribute to it. But as an engineer, I've been wanting to show people that technology is something that can be small and handmade and made like for us by us.”
“Counter-Algorithmic Poetics” opens Saturday at 6 p.m. at Resource in Minneapolis and runs for three days. Chiueh hopes the project can eventually help other communities create poetry together.
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