An Algoliterary Journey

Algoliterary Encounter is an attempt to explore the narrative perspective of machine learning algorithms as playful and legible stories. Taking implemented models as a starting point, Algoliterary Encounters tries to get a grip on some of the materials that are used in applications around the web.

In the framework of Saison Numérique the Maison du Livre in Brussels opens its space for the Algoliterary Encounter from 9 till 12 Novmeber 2017. The members of Algolit present lectures, workshops and a small exhibition about the narrative perspective of machine learning models. These selflearning algorithms are based on algebra and statistics. They often function as opaque ’blackbox’ algorithms, while they shape applications that are daily used on a worldwide scale, like search engines on the web, translation machines, advertising profiling, facial recognition etc.

Because machine learning models are so present, the members of Algolit felt the need to retell them in different ways, distillating reading and writing experiments from it. By executing parts of their construction process in a literary context, they become more legible. It is way to experience a few moments that are usually hidden in the making of the model, and that co-design contemporary stories in the way they influence the organisation of information.

Algolit is a workgroup around algorithms and literature, initiated by Constant, an organisation for arts and media in Brussels. In the footsteps of Oulipo, the Algolit members share their experiences with code and text during monthly meetings, and conduct new experiments together.

The exhibition of Algoliterary Encounter is composed of two parts. Algoliterary works are creations by members of Algolit that have been showed and performed in different places before. Algoliterary Explorations is a collection of experiments that show how the group has been discovering machine learning algorithms. It reads as a methodology of how to understand the code of existing models, running scripts and play with their inputs and outputs, dissecting the process of machine learning models by exploring datasets, looking at methods to transform words into numbers, creating different views on the data and finally changing the scripts to our needs, customizing our tools.

As an addendum to the exhibition you will find a bibliography of the books and papers that were keeping us company. At the back of the catalogue you can also find the link to the repository where you can download all scripts and materials.

Organised by: Manetta Berends, Cristina Cochior, Gijs de Heij, Hans Lammerant, An Mertens

With the support of: Constant vzw/asbl, La Maison du Livre, Saison Numérique

License: Manetta Berends, Cristina Cochior, Gijs de Heij, Hans Lammerant, An Mertens; Algoliterary Encounter Catalogue, Brussels, October 2017, LINK_TO_SOURCES. Copyleft: This is a free work, you can copy, distribute, and modify it under the terms of the Free Art License http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en/