Computer generated 'poetry'

[Ficus strangulensis]

Is this really poetry?

Is it "bad".

I sense we have a value judgement here and that there is no proof or way to prove whether or not computer-generated poetry is even poetry since I doubt that there is universal agreement on a definition of poetry.

So, lessee what the Innarnet sez. That shd be innaresting.

Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic^[1][2][3] qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning.

...is what Wikipedia [currently] says poetry is. Some say poetry must be spoken. Do they agree on a definition with visual poets? Prolly not.

I think that a lot of hogwash is passed off as poetry and have most probably been guilty of doing so.

If I were to post "good" poetry here, would I be shunned, exorcised, drawn and quartered. etc., etc?

[Ficus strangulensis]

Oh, yeah!

[De Villo Sloan]

Ron Silliman's Tjanting is a book-length poem using the Fibonacci sequence to generate the poems. I think random sentences are combined and recombined following the number sequence.

Jackson MacLow - one of the few to actually deserve the designation of first wave Fluxus poet - did a lot of poetry based on numerical sequences. I always found him tough going, but you're on the right track in terms of at least one kind of Fluxus poetry.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo Oulipo is very trendy right now with all the conceptualists, but it is an interesting movement that uses a lot of math.

[Linda French]

Maybe the computer itself could make the judgement; generate the poetry first, then give it access to criteria to make the assessment. Computer 'consciousness' would essentially make different criteria. Correctness? Numeric poetry could really be beautiful. Not necessarily the same thing, but is there someone out there who would give it a shot?  Am I talking baloney?--Linda

[Ficus strangulensis]

Hi, Linda!

Great! This seems a wonderful new use for artificial intelligence analogously to its use with images at Google's Deep Dream. There, the aim started as recognizing and naming images so they could be classified without paying expensive humans. It has grown to be a way to alter images in semi-controllable ways.

I imagine a Deep Dream for text alteration would accept a text and produce one altered into 'poetry' and that the 'poetry' would be "bad".

I'm TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED to help but perhaps we could stir up interest within the AI community?

I'll see what the Google people think--Y'r ol' Bud, Fike

[Mail Art Martha]

Really? No computer can get anywhere near the abyss of badness I have reached with my hand-made poetry. And the illustration is not good either,all in all, perfect badness. I pride myself of its Zen type quality.