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Jon McCormack

Monash University, Faculty of Information Technology, Faculty Member

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Professor Jon McCormack is an Australian-based artist and researcher in computing, based at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is currently the director of sensiLab, an interdisciplinary creative technology research space at Monash's Caulfield campus.

His research interests include generative art, design and music, evolutionary systems, computer creativity, visualisation, virtual reality, interaction design, physical computing, machine learning, L-systems and developmental models.

His research and art practice have received numerous awards, including the Lumen Prize (2016), the Eureka Prize (2012, for Innovation in Computer Science) and the John Lansdown Award for Interactive Media (2006).

Website: http://jonmccormack.info

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Articles & Papers by Jon McCormack

Improvisational creativity

Introductory article for the special issue of digital creativity on improvisational creativity.

Using Autonomous Agents to Improvise Music Compositions in Real-Time

This paper outlines an approach to real-time music generation using melody and harmony focused ag... more This paper outlines an approach to real-time music generation using melody and harmony focused agents in a process inspired by jazz improvisation. A harmony agent employs a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) artificial neural network trained on the chord progressions of 2986 jazz 'standard' compositions using a network structure novel to chord sequence analysis. The melody agent uses a rule-based system of manipulating provided, pre-composed melodies to improvise new themes and variations. The agents take turns in leading the direction of the composition based on a rating system that rewards harmonic consistency and melodic flow. In developing the multi-agent system it was found that implementing embedded spaces in the LSTM encoding process resulted in significant improvements to chord sequence learning.

Niche Constructing Drawing Robots

This paper describes a series of experiments in creating autonomous drawing robots that generate ... more This paper describes a series of experiments in creating autonomous drawing robots that generate aesthetically interesting and engaging drawings. Based on a previous method for multiple software agents that mimic the biological process of niche construction, the challenge in this project was to re-interpret the implementation of a set of evolving software agents into a physical robotic system. In this new robotic system, individual robots try to reinforce a particular niche defined by the density of the lines drawn underneath them. The paper also outlines the role of environmental interactions in determining the style of drawing produced.

Designing Improvisational Interfaces

This paper examines the possibilities for creative interaction with computers, in particular mode... more This paper examines the possibilities for creative interaction with computers, in particular modes of interaction based on improvisation and spontaneous creative discovery. We consider research findings from studies in psychology that investigate how humans improvise together to see what could be useful in helping us to design systems that provide new kinds of interactive opportunities. We draw on our personal experiences both as computer scientists working across art and music, and as practicing artists and musicians, to examine what artists and musicians would want in any system designed to support creative interaction with a computer. We bring together these different findings to propose a series of working principles which form a basis for designing systems that facilitate collaboration and improvisation with computers in creative domains.

Codeform: A Balancing Act between Variation and Utility in Evolutionary Art

This paper describes the artwork Codeform, an interactive, evolutionary ecosystem of virtual “cre... more This paper describes the artwork Codeform, an interactive, evolutionary ecosystem of virtual “creatures” created by scanning museum visitor admission tickets at the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria, in 2014. The paper first describes technical mechanisms used to realize the work and then discusses the issues of finding a genotypic representation that is terse but expressive---that is, one that maximizes the useful variations that the genotype is capable of expressing in phenotype space.

Post-Anthropocentric Creativity

by Jon McCormack and Stanislav Roudavski

Digital Creativity, 2016

This special issue aimed to audit existing conceptions of creativity in the light of non-anthropo... more This special issue aimed to audit existing conceptions of creativity in the light of non-anthropocentric interpretations of agency, autonomy, subjectivity, social practices and technologies. A review and update of these conceptions is prudent in an age when human creativity is credited as the dominant, yet hugely destructive, influence on the planetary environment.

Papers by Jon McCormack

The Enigma of Complexity

by Jon McCormack and Camilo Cruz Gambardella

In this paper we examine the concept of complexity as it applies to generative art and design. Co... more In this paper we examine the concept of complexity as it applies to generative art and design. Complexity has many different, discipline specific definitions, such as complexity in physical systems (entropy), algorithmic measures of information complexity and the field of “complex systems”. We apply a series of different complexity measures to three different generative art datasets and look at the correlations between complexity and individual aesthetic judgement by the artist (in the case of two datasets) or the physically measured complexity of 3D forms. Our results show that the degree of correlation is different for each set and measure, indicating that there is no overall “better” measure. However, specific measures do perform well on individual datasets, indicating that careful choice can increase the value of using such measures. We conclude by discussing the value of direct measures in generative and evolutionary art, reinforcing recent findings from neuroimaging and psycho...

SenseSurround (Exhibition)

Q&A Jon McCormack: Species futurologist (Interview by Jascha Hoffman)

Images du futur 96 : Les artistes au 21e siècle = Images du futur 96 : Artists of the 21st Century

Stimulating creative flow through computational

This report summarises the discussion and experimental work produced by the authors at the 2009 s... more This report summarises the discussion and experimental work produced by the authors at the 2009 symposium Computational Creativity: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Dagstuhl Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik. It outlines the motivation for using computational techniques to stimulate human creativity, briefly summarising its historical context and predecessors, and describes two software studies produced by the group as base-line exemplars of these ideas.

Introduction: First Iteration—A Conference on Generative Systems in the Electronic Arts

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1162 002409401750287001, Mar 13, 2006

ABSTRACT Leonardo 34.3 (2001) 239-242 The First Iteration conference was a unique and speculative... more ABSTRACT Leonardo 34.3 (2001) 239-242 The First Iteration conference was a unique and speculative event, designed to develop a dialogue about the use of process in contemporary electronic arts practice [1]. It brought together a small group of researchers, artists, theorists and critics from the domains of science and art for an intense and productive exploration of this complex field. As initiators of the event, we were conscious of the plethora of &quot;Art &amp; Technology&quot; and even &quot;Art &amp; Science&quot; conferences and symposia that already exist. We did not wish to duplicate the domains already covered by such events. Our focus was limited and specific, perhaps even slightly &quot;nerdy,&quot; and certainly we had no idea what the response to our call for participation might be. Fortunately, a group of about 80 individuals from all over the world shared our faith in this idea and joined us in southern Australia for 3 days to participate in this inaugural event. Conference components included paper presentations, artist talks, performances, a video and film program and a gallery exhibition. Due to the &quot;multiple media&quot; nature of contributions, the published conference materials included an audio CD, a CD-ROM and printed proceedings [2]. The papers reproduced in this and the following issue of Leonardo represent a broad cross-section of the material presented at the conference [3]. It is hoped that through this publication, we can reach a wider audience. We encourage anyone interested in this area to participate in Second Iteration, which again will be held in Melbourne, 5-7 December 2001. The conference adopted the perspective of the artist for whom the process of algorithmic specification in software (or implementation in hardware) is inextricable from the artifact. For such work, the process or algorithm is as much the &quot;art&quot; as is any physical or virtual artifact produced. The conference was set up to explore the issues surrounding the construction of physical and virtual machines as a process of art-making, something that, although touched upon by many, is seldom a conference&#39;s major theme. The use of generative systems as both a methodology and source of inspiration for creative works has a long and distinguished history and one that certainly pre-dates the modern computer. While much work in this area has come from the domain of computer-based music and composition, we did not limit our focus to any particular art form or area of practice. Indeed, participants represented many disciplines: from visual artists to computer scientists; from musicians to feature-film animators; from programmers to museum curators. Many of the participants came from several of these domains, and it is our feeling that this eclectic mix of backgrounds was one of the conference&#39;s most important assets. While considering what to include in the event, we found that a number of artists and art movements, particularly in music, made use of formalist generative processes. For example, the work of experimental British composer Cornelius Cardew, in Paragraph 7 of his work The Great Learning (1968), makes use of a music composition algorithm that relies on a set of agents (human singers), each following a deterministic set of rules. The complexity that emerges from this interaction of singers is quite astonishing. A live performance of Paragraph 7 was included as part of the First Iteration performance program. Without attempting to limit or formally classify &quot;generative art,&quot; we have found it helpful to adopt a biological metaphor when describing works such as those presented at the conference. We use the terms genotype and phenotype as analogous representations of a productive methodology. Generative art practice focuses on the production and composition of the genotype. When run, interpreted or performed, the genotype produces the phenotype -- the work to be experienced. The phenotype is the realization of the process represented or encoded by the genotype. For example, Cardew&#39;s score for Paragraph 7 (some text and a set of instructions) may be viewed as a genotype. The execution of the score (by a group of human singers) produces the phenotype (the physical performance). Like its biological counterpart, each phenotype (performance) is recognizable as a member of the same &quot;species&quot; and is statistically similar to every other phenotype...

Remifentanil for tracheal intubation in infants and children

Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia, Jun 1, 2008

452867 - REMIFENTANIL FOR TRACHEAL INTUBATION IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN ... Jon McCormack, MBChB 1 ... more

Generative Algorithms for Making Music: Emergence, Evolution, and Ecosystems

Advances in patient-controlled analgesia: the role of fentanylITS

Medical Devices, 2008

Effective pain relief is an essential component of a patient’s peri-operative care package. Good ... more Effective pain relief is an essential component of a patient’s peri-operative care package. Good analgesia has been shown to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular, respiratory and thrombo-embolic complications following surgery. Satisfactory analgesia facilitates early patient ambulation following surgery, which may reduce in-patient stay. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) systems are a well established standard therapy for acute post-operative pain; however some practical limitations limit their clinical utility. The fentanyl inotophoretic transdermal system (ITS) is a novel self-contained needle-free PCA device, which delivers boluses of fentanyl transdermally. This system has been shown to provide analgesia equivalent to conventional PCA modalities, with unique design features that may confer advantages to patients and staff, including facilitating patient mobilization in the post-operative phase. This review will discuss the technology of iontophoretic systems, the pharmacology of transdermal fentanyl delivery, and some practical implications of the fentanyl ITS.

PRE-PRINT of: Dorin, A., McCormack, J., "Self-Assembling Dynamical Hierarchies

This paper addresses the open problem of assembling multilevelled hierarchical structure. It pres... more This paper addresses the open problem of assembling multilevelled hierarchical structure. It presents a model of an infinitely-levelled, self-assembling dynamical hierarchy which arises from the interaction of geometric primary elements with a fixed complexity. A formal description of the presented hierarchy is derived. This quantifies the relative compression achieved by describing the system in terms of components of different organization. The relationship between properties of representations and those of physical objects is then discussed to support the view that at each level in the hierarchy presented, the components exhibit emergent properties not possessed by those at the levels below. It is concluded that these new properties are trivial and that such infinitely-levelled structures may be constructed easily. However since the definition of the problem in the literature admits such trivial possibilities, further discussion is required to ensure "interesting" emergent properties are clearly distinguished from those that are not.

Generative Modelling with Timed L-Systems

... These functions approximate the inverse kinematical solution of the sys-tem for a ... Parish,... more

Design Issues in Musical Composition Networks

Alternativeapproachesareexploredanddiscussedrelatingtothedesignandfunctionof thesoftwareproject"N... more Alternativeapproachesareexploredanddiscussedrelatingtothedesignandfunctionof thesoftwareproject"Nodal".Thisproject aimstocreateagraphicalenvironmentthat enablestheusertoconfigureaspatial,directedgraphthatgeneratesmusicinrealtime.Werefertosuchgraphsascomposition ornodalnetworks.Thesenetworksprovidea programmingandvisualizationstructure thatemphasizestemporalrelationsandevent topologyñtheprimaryreasonsforusing networkstorepresentmusicalprocesses.The discussioninthispaperrelatestotheinitial designconstraintsthathavebeenimposedon theprojectandalternativeswithintheseconstraintsthatgiverisetodifferentmusical behaviors.Assessmentsaremadeaboutthe effectivenessofdifferentdesignapproaches.

Improvisational creativity

Introductory article for the special issue of digital creativity on improvisational creativity.

Using Autonomous Agents to Improvise Music Compositions in Real-Time

This paper outlines an approach to real-time music generation using melody and harmony focused ag... more This paper outlines an approach to real-time music generation using melody and harmony focused agents in a process inspired by jazz improvisation. A harmony agent employs a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) artificial neural network trained on the chord progressions of 2986 jazz 'standard' compositions using a network structure novel to chord sequence analysis. The melody agent uses a rule-based system of manipulating provided, pre-composed melodies to improvise new themes and variations. The agents take turns in leading the direction of the composition based on a rating system that rewards harmonic consistency and melodic flow. In developing the multi-agent system it was found that implementing embedded spaces in the LSTM encoding process resulted in significant improvements to chord sequence learning.

Niche Constructing Drawing Robots

This paper describes a series of experiments in creating autonomous drawing robots that generate ... more This paper describes a series of experiments in creating autonomous drawing robots that generate aesthetically interesting and engaging drawings. Based on a previous method for multiple software agents that mimic the biological process of niche construction, the challenge in this project was to re-interpret the implementation of a set of evolving software agents into a physical robotic system. In this new robotic system, individual robots try to reinforce a particular niche defined by the density of the lines drawn underneath them. The paper also outlines the role of environmental interactions in determining the style of drawing produced.

Designing Improvisational Interfaces

This paper examines the possibilities for creative interaction with computers, in particular mode... more This paper examines the possibilities for creative interaction with computers, in particular modes of interaction based on improvisation and spontaneous creative discovery. We consider research findings from studies in psychology that investigate how humans improvise together to see what could be useful in helping us to design systems that provide new kinds of interactive opportunities. We draw on our personal experiences both as computer scientists working across art and music, and as practicing artists and musicians, to examine what artists and musicians would want in any system designed to support creative interaction with a computer. We bring together these different findings to propose a series of working principles which form a basis for designing systems that facilitate collaboration and improvisation with computers in creative domains.

Codeform: A Balancing Act between Variation and Utility in Evolutionary Art

This paper describes the artwork Codeform, an interactive, evolutionary ecosystem of virtual “cre... more This paper describes the artwork Codeform, an interactive, evolutionary ecosystem of virtual “creatures” created by scanning museum visitor admission tickets at the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria, in 2014. The paper first describes technical mechanisms used to realize the work and then discusses the issues of finding a genotypic representation that is terse but expressive---that is, one that maximizes the useful variations that the genotype is capable of expressing in phenotype space.

Post-Anthropocentric Creativity

by Jon McCormack and Stanislav Roudavski

Digital Creativity, 2016

This special issue aimed to audit existing conceptions of creativity in the light of non-anthropo... more This special issue aimed to audit existing conceptions of creativity in the light of non-anthropocentric interpretations of agency, autonomy, subjectivity, social practices and technologies. A review and update of these conceptions is prudent in an age when human creativity is credited as the dominant, yet hugely destructive, influence on the planetary environment.

The Enigma of Complexity

by Jon McCormack and Camilo Cruz Gambardella

In this paper we examine the concept of complexity as it applies to generative art and design. Co... more In this paper we examine the concept of complexity as it applies to generative art and design. Complexity has many different, discipline specific definitions, such as complexity in physical systems (entropy), algorithmic measures of information complexity and the field of “complex systems”. We apply a series of different complexity measures to three different generative art datasets and look at the correlations between complexity and individual aesthetic judgement by the artist (in the case of two datasets) or the physically measured complexity of 3D forms. Our results show that the degree of correlation is different for each set and measure, indicating that there is no overall “better” measure. However, specific measures do perform well on individual datasets, indicating that careful choice can increase the value of using such measures. We conclude by discussing the value of direct measures in generative and evolutionary art, reinforcing recent findings from neuroimaging and psycho...

SenseSurround (Exhibition)

Q&A Jon McCormack: Species futurologist (Interview by Jascha Hoffman)

Images du futur 96 : Les artistes au 21e siècle = Images du futur 96 : Artists of the 21st Century

Stimulating creative flow through computational

This report summarises the discussion and experimental work produced by the authors at the 2009 s... more This report summarises the discussion and experimental work produced by the authors at the 2009 symposium Computational Creativity: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Dagstuhl Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik. It outlines the motivation for using computational techniques to stimulate human creativity, briefly summarising its historical context and predecessors, and describes two software studies produced by the group as base-line exemplars of these ideas.

Introduction: First Iteration—A Conference on Generative Systems in the Electronic Arts

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1162 002409401750287001, Mar 13, 2006

ABSTRACT Leonardo 34.3 (2001) 239-242 The First Iteration conference was a unique and speculative... more ABSTRACT Leonardo 34.3 (2001) 239-242 The First Iteration conference was a unique and speculative event, designed to develop a dialogue about the use of process in contemporary electronic arts practice [1]. It brought together a small group of researchers, artists, theorists and critics from the domains of science and art for an intense and productive exploration of this complex field. As initiators of the event, we were conscious of the plethora of &quot;Art &amp; Technology&quot; and even &quot;Art &amp; Science&quot; conferences and symposia that already exist. We did not wish to duplicate the domains already covered by such events. Our focus was limited and specific, perhaps even slightly &quot;nerdy,&quot; and certainly we had no idea what the response to our call for participation might be. Fortunately, a group of about 80 individuals from all over the world shared our faith in this idea and joined us in southern Australia for 3 days to participate in this inaugural event. Conference components included paper presentations, artist talks, performances, a video and film program and a gallery exhibition. Due to the &quot;multiple media&quot; nature of contributions, the published conference materials included an audio CD, a CD-ROM and printed proceedings [2]. The papers reproduced in this and the following issue of Leonardo represent a broad cross-section of the material presented at the conference [3]. It is hoped that through this publication, we can reach a wider audience. We encourage anyone interested in this area to participate in Second Iteration, which again will be held in Melbourne, 5-7 December 2001. The conference adopted the perspective of the artist for whom the process of algorithmic specification in software (or implementation in hardware) is inextricable from the artifact. For such work, the process or algorithm is as much the &quot;art&quot; as is any physical or virtual artifact produced. The conference was set up to explore the issues surrounding the construction of physical and virtual machines as a process of art-making, something that, although touched upon by many, is seldom a conference&#39;s major theme. The use of generative systems as both a methodology and source of inspiration for creative works has a long and distinguished history and one that certainly pre-dates the modern computer. While much work in this area has come from the domain of computer-based music and composition, we did not limit our focus to any particular art form or area of practice. Indeed, participants represented many disciplines: from visual artists to computer scientists; from musicians to feature-film animators; from programmers to museum curators. Many of the participants came from several of these domains, and it is our feeling that this eclectic mix of backgrounds was one of the conference&#39;s most important assets. While considering what to include in the event, we found that a number of artists and art movements, particularly in music, made use of formalist generative processes. For example, the work of experimental British composer Cornelius Cardew, in Paragraph 7 of his work The Great Learning (1968), makes use of a music composition algorithm that relies on a set of agents (human singers), each following a deterministic set of rules. The complexity that emerges from this interaction of singers is quite astonishing. A live performance of Paragraph 7 was included as part of the First Iteration performance program. Without attempting to limit or formally classify &quot;generative art,&quot; we have found it helpful to adopt a biological metaphor when describing works such as those presented at the conference. We use the terms genotype and phenotype as analogous representations of a productive methodology. Generative art practice focuses on the production and composition of the genotype. When run, interpreted or performed, the genotype produces the phenotype -- the work to be experienced. The phenotype is the realization of the process represented or encoded by the genotype. For example, Cardew&#39;s score for Paragraph 7 (some text and a set of instructions) may be viewed as a genotype. The execution of the score (by a group of human singers) produces the phenotype (the physical performance). Like its biological counterpart, each phenotype (performance) is recognizable as a member of the same &quot;species&quot; and is statistically similar to every other phenotype...

Remifentanil for tracheal intubation in infants and children

Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia, Jun 1, 2008

452867 - REMIFENTANIL FOR TRACHEAL INTUBATION IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN ... Jon McCormack, MBChB 1 ... more

Generative Algorithms for Making Music: Emergence, Evolution, and Ecosystems

Advances in patient-controlled analgesia: the role of fentanylITS

Medical Devices, 2008

Effective pain relief is an essential component of a patient’s peri-operative care package. Good ... more Effective pain relief is an essential component of a patient’s peri-operative care package. Good analgesia has been shown to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular, respiratory and thrombo-embolic complications following surgery. Satisfactory analgesia facilitates early patient ambulation following surgery, which may reduce in-patient stay. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) systems are a well established standard therapy for acute post-operative pain; however some practical limitations limit their clinical utility. The fentanyl inotophoretic transdermal system (ITS) is a novel self-contained needle-free PCA device, which delivers boluses of fentanyl transdermally. This system has been shown to provide analgesia equivalent to conventional PCA modalities, with unique design features that may confer advantages to patients and staff, including facilitating patient mobilization in the post-operative phase. This review will discuss the technology of iontophoretic systems, the pharmacology of transdermal fentanyl delivery, and some practical implications of the fentanyl ITS.

PRE-PRINT of: Dorin, A., McCormack, J., "Self-Assembling Dynamical Hierarchies

This paper addresses the open problem of assembling multilevelled hierarchical structure. It pres... more This paper addresses the open problem of assembling multilevelled hierarchical structure. It presents a model of an infinitely-levelled, self-assembling dynamical hierarchy which arises from the interaction of geometric primary elements with a fixed complexity. A formal description of the presented hierarchy is derived. This quantifies the relative compression achieved by describing the system in terms of components of different organization. The relationship between properties of representations and those of physical objects is then discussed to support the view that at each level in the hierarchy presented, the components exhibit emergent properties not possessed by those at the levels below. It is concluded that these new properties are trivial and that such infinitely-levelled structures may be constructed easily. However since the definition of the problem in the literature admits such trivial possibilities, further discussion is required to ensure "interesting" emergent properties are clearly distinguished from those that are not.

Generative Modelling with Timed L-Systems

... These functions approximate the inverse kinematical solution of the sys-tem for a ... Parish,... more

Design Issues in Musical Composition Networks

Alternativeapproachesareexploredanddiscussedrelatingtothedesignandfunctionof thesoftwareproject"N... more Alternativeapproachesareexploredanddiscussedrelatingtothedesignandfunctionof thesoftwareproject"Nodal".Thisproject aimstocreateagraphicalenvironmentthat enablestheusertoconfigureaspatial,directedgraphthatgeneratesmusicinrealtime.Werefertosuchgraphsascomposition ornodalnetworks.Thesenetworksprovidea programmingandvisualizationstructure thatemphasizestemporalrelationsandevent topologyñtheprimaryreasonsforusing networkstorepresentmusicalprocesses.The discussioninthispaperrelatestotheinitial designconstraintsthathavebeenimposedon theprojectandalternativeswithintheseconstraintsthatgiverisetodifferentmusical behaviors.Assessmentsaremadeaboutthe effectivenessofdifferentdesignapproaches.

Grammar-based music composition

Complexity, 1996

... While grammars have been a popular method for algorithmic composition, in most instances the ... more

Ten Questions Concerning Generative Computer Art

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1162 Leon_A_00533, Mar 20, 2014

In this paper we pose ten questions we consider the most important for understanding generative c... more

Stimulating creative ow through computational feedback

This report summarises the discussion and experimental work pro- duced by the authors at the 2009... more This report summarises the discussion and experimental work pro- duced by the authors at the 2009 symposium Computational Creativity: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Dagstuhl Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik. It outlines the motivation for using computational techniques to stimulate human creativity, briey summarising its historical context and predeces- sors, and describes two software studies produced by the group as base-line exemplars of these

Addressing Key Concerns for Implementation of Ni FUSI into Manufacturing for 45/32 nm CMOS

2007 IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology, 2007

1E+15 1E+16 1E+17 1E+18 1E+19 1E+20 1E+21 1E+22 1E+23 1E+24 ... C o n c e n tra tio n (a to m /c ... more

Interactive Evolution of L-System Grammars for Computer Graphics Modelling

Evolution of Lindenmayer Systems (L-Systems) provides a powerful method for creating complex comp... more Evolution of Lindenmayer Systems (L-Systems) provides a powerful method for creating complex computer graphics and animations. This paper describes an interactive modelling system for computer graphics in which the user is able to "evolve" grammatical rules and surface equations. Starting from any initial L-System grammar the evolution proceeds via repeated random mutation and user selection. Sub-classes of the mutation process

Life’s What You Make: Niche Construction and Evolutionary Art

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2009

This paper advances new methods for ecosystemic approaches to evolutionary music and art. We expl... more This paper advances new methods for ecosystemic approaches to evolutionary music and art. We explore the biological concept of the niche and its role in evolutionary dynamics, applying it to creative computational systems. Using the process of niche construction organisms are able to change and adapt their environment, and potentially that of other species. Constructed niches may become heritable environments for offspring, paralleling the way genes are passed from parent to child. In a creative ecosystem, niche construction can be used by agents to increase the diversity and heterogeneity of their output. We illustrate the usefulness of this technique by applying niche construction to line drawing and music composition.

A ‘Living Lab’ collaboration, co-designing the future of Aged Care

by Daphne Flynn, Eden Potter [she/her], and Jon McCormack

2019 AAG Conference Oral Presentations – Abstracts , 2019

Residential aged care in Australia operates on a fragmented service model due to various modes of... more Residential aged care in Australia operates on a fragmented service model due to various modes of delivery by small to medium enterprises spread across community, home and residential care settings. The same has been observed internationally, considered a reaction to the similar conditions, including a lack of clear quality indicators, fragmented small operators, and issues around standards of professional accreditation and regulation. (Britnell, 2015).

There is potential to create positive impact in the sector through strategic service integration and coordination that aligns with consumer expectations, regulation, Aged Care Standards and co-designing with service stakeholders. Successful deployment of such an initiative relies on the collaborative efforts of people who are invested in improving the system as a whole. Design for Health is a growing area where designers and healthcare providers work alongside one another to explore innovation in health services. One of the ways this operates is through a Living Lab—a research construct where collaborating partners work on-site in a health services setting to uncover and enact system change in that service.

This paper will report on the first stage of collaboration between a University and a Residential Care facility working together as an Aged Care Living Lab (ACLL). Designers and researchers will collaborate with staff, residents, families and carers in a real-world context to define and address everyday issues and challenges, giving agency to people at the centre of Aged Care. An in-situ learning and translational research environment will deliver meaningful, innovative ways to improve people’s lived experience, informed by a deep understanding of people. Furthermore, this collaboration will establish a long-term relationship between Aged Care residents, healthcare providers, researchers, and designers to support the development of scalable solutions, create intellectual property, and promote technological innovation.

Britnell, M. (2015). In search of the perfect health system (1st ed.). London: Palgrave.