chasing waterfalls

Symbiosis of humans and machines in an AI opera

You never step into the same river twice: it’s the same with the digital landscape, which changes in the blink of an eye. 

The AI opera chasing waterfalls, depicting the human pursuit of the intangible digital self, receives its world premiere at Dresden’s Semperoper this September. Co-commissioned by the New Vision Arts Festival, this opera – developed and co-presented by the German multimedia artist collective “phase7 performing.arts” – makes its Asian premiere in Hong Kong. Local rising musical star Angus Lee co-composes the music and also assumes the role of conductor, while Berlin's Studio for Sonic Experiences “kling klang klong” contributes the electro-acoustic composition alongside the innovative AI voice which was specially created together with T Systems MMS –  following the algorithms of the music, AI therefore engages in deep learning and gradually becomes sentient…

We are somewhere between Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. AI learns to simulate pixels and the singing voice, even challenging real-life opera singers. “Ego” (I) and “Ego fluens” (the fluid I) chase each other to the point where it becomes hard to differentiate between real and fake. In the end, even the audience becomes a part of the digital waterfall.

As boundaries gradually dissolve, can “I” insist on my veracity and ability to think as “human”?