Artificial Intelligence

After running this blog for over two decades, it was time for some serious housekeeping. I converted from WordPress to Hugo some years ago, but never had time to do a proper cleanup. Then, the focus was on conversion and making it work. Now, with the help of GitHub Copilot, I finally got around to cleaning up the technical debt that had accumulated across several thousand posts. The Scale of the Challenge This blog currently contains more than 2000 English posts and 200 Norwegian posts, spanning from 2000 to 2025. In the beginning, I wrote HTML code manually, then moved on to server-side includes, then to WordPress, and now to Hugo. Throughout those years, I have changed themes and explored new web standards as they have evolved. That history shows in the inconsistencies that have built up in the content. ...

During a Christmas dinner, someone commented that many texts are too long these days and that it would be nice to have shorter versions available. One could think of large language models (LLMs) as a good solution for this. However, a better conceptual starting point may be the the concept of stretchtext, coined by Ted Nelson back in the 1960s. I wrote about application writing as stretchtext here on this blog back in 2011. Then, I used the example of having to write both a 5-page and a 15-page application for the ERC Starting Grant. Now, I am curious about how we could use the stretchtext concept to improve contemporary reading and learning. ...

This semester, I have written a book with AI. I should emphasize the with in the previous sentence, because this has been an experience of co-creation between various large language models (LLMs) and me. This post details my approach to co-writing Sensing Sound and Music and reflects on the process. The need for a book The reason for my AI-based writing experiment was the need for a textbook for the course MUS2640 – Sensing Sound and Music at the University of Oslo. This is an introductory course for the bachelor’s students in our musicology program who want to major in music psychology and/or music technology. These are two distinct directions that are usually taught separately. However, at UiO, we have a strong tradition of combining psychological and technological perspectives on and with music (in the fourMs Lab and at RITMO), so I have argued that we need a foundation course showing the connections between the two disciplines. ...

One of my MUS2640 students asked which AI tool I had used to create the illustration on top of the textbook I have been developing for the course. The fact is, it isn’t AI-generated; it is a photo! I took the photo holding a 360-degree camera on my head while visiting the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) a couple of years ago. I was standing inside Olafur Eliasson’s One-way colour tunnel, located on a bridge inside the gallery. It is a fascinating three-dimensional light sculpture that no photo could capture. However, the 360-degree photo gives an impression of what it looks like: ...

Over the past few weeks, I have read several newspaper articles and seen numerous social media postings from researchers expressing skepticism about using AI in research. It is fine that some people prefer not to use new tools, but I don’t see why that should hinder the rest of us from exploring the possibilities that are out there. Many researchers do use AI tools, which I think is perfectly fine. The problem is that not many people talk about how they use the tools and reflect more on how they work. I think it is imperative that professors explore AI in various ways to see what works and what does not. After all, we are going to teach upcoming generations and lead the way in both development and use. We then need hands-on experience and qualified opinions. ...

Several people have asked about the story behind our name, MishMash. Some also wonder whether it is an acronym for something. It is not; we are thinking about it as a descriptive part of our full centre name: “MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity”. I can reveal that the name has been heavily discussed in our consortium from the beginning of our application process. If I recall correctly, it first appeared during a conversation with my colleague Ragnhild Brøvig in late April last year. We had to submit a sketch of our application ideas to the Faculty of Humanities and had to come up with a title. Our thoughts were scattered, and we still did not have a clear idea of how to structure things; it all felt like a “mishmash”. We kept it as a working title and even included it in the sketch we submitted to the Research Council of Norway in June last year. ...

Yesterday, we learned that MishMash has been funded. Many people are asking about our plans, so here is a quick overview based on those outlined in the application. What? MishMash will be a large Norwegian centre dedicated to exploring the intersection of AI and creativity. Our primary objective is to create, explore, and reflect on AI for, through, and in creative practices. We will investigate AI’s impact on creative processes, develop innovative CoCreative AI systems, and address AI’s ethical, cultural, and societal implications in creative domains. ...

Yesterday, I received a brief phone call from the Research Council of Norway, where I was asked to come to UiO’s University Library today. The very pleasant message was that our bid for a Norwegian AI centre had been selected by the committee: MishMash Centre for AI and Creativity will be a reality! Today’s press release was a high-profile event with both the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and Minister of Research and Higher Education, Sigrun Aasland, present. ...

On a visit to Milan, I came across a stair close to the famous Bosco Verticale that interested me. I passed these stairs several times and struggled with walking them each time. It was equally difficult up and down; they just did not seem to work for me. That inspired this blog post about stair walking. The biomechanics of stair walking Walking up and down stairs is an everyday activity we often take for granted. However, the rhythmic nature of stair walking involves a fascinating interplay of stride length, gait, and challenges posed by different types of stairs. ...

I am working on RITMO’s annual report for 2024. Typically, we include world maps showing where people at RITMO are coming from and the various countries we have collaborators in (check out last year’s report for example). These maps are usually made by hand, but I was curious to see if MS Copilot could help. After a little bit of tweaking, I have created a nice Python script that does the job! ...