Ludwig Zeller | FHNW - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ludwig Zeller

xCoAx 2023. 11th Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X, 2023

This paper examines the extent to which deep-learning-based generative programs, particularly tex... more This paper examines the extent to which deep-learning-based generative programs, particularly text-to-image generators, support human creativity in the sense Margaret Boden's definition. This discussion is supported by a brief introduction to the technical workings of denoising diffusion-based text-to-image generators. The analysis reveals that while these networks lack the autonomous ability to evaluate their designs and conduct exploratory design processes, they can nonetheless be considered complex tools that support human creativity by offering both accessible and powerful means of text-toimage translations. The paper then broadens its focus to a more general discussion of the potential impact of such assistance on creative labor, particularly in the design disciplines. Finally, the paper identifies the democratization of creativity as a larger disruptive force for creative labor than automatization, as professional workers might soon be competing with a larger, less trained workforce.

Proceedings of the 17th International Audio Mostly Conference (AM ’22), 2022

How can a virtual sound laboratory allow for new and exciting ways of sonic interaction in the co... more How can a virtual sound laboratory allow for new and exciting ways of sonic interaction in the context of the arts? Our project addresses this question by developing the virtual sound lab 'OpenSoundLab' (as an open-source fork of 'SoundStage VR' by Logan Olson) that introduces to the artistic and musical production of sonic media with the help of the VR goggles 'Meta Quest 2'. The aim is to combine the physical experience of working on spatial experimental systems, which is often perceived as positive and productive, with the advantages of digital tools and thus to enable independent learning and experimentation. The virtual lab allows to become familiar with the basics of creative sound generation and processing. Specially produced video tutorials play a central role here, which can be viewed at any time within the virtual environment and thus make it possible to study in individual lab environments independently of time and place. Furthermore, 'OpenSoundLab' may serve as an open-source tool for the professional and academic community of musicians, performers, and artists alike. In our reflection, we develop the notion of 'cooking' sound while 'flowing' in a mixed environment and apply this to experimental work in a virtual sound laboratory. CCS CONCEPTS • Applied computing → Arts and humanities; Sound and music computing; Media arts; Performing arts.

xCoAx 2021. 9th Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X, 2021

The human imagination received a discursive gain regarding its societal and economic importance a... more The human imagination received a discursive gain regarding its societal and economic importance as a cognitive resource in the course of the 20th and 21st century. This situation motivated the emergence of imagination tech- niques of which we discuss several briefly in this paper. The various forma- tions of ‘speculative’ strategies within art and design can be seen as a recent extension to this tendency. While such strategies are usually predominantly visual, we suggested in our earlier research and practice (‘The Institute of Sonic Epistemologies’) that aural techniques might be equally suited to stim- ulate the human imagination, since such approaches leave the visual senses open for mental imagery in the human mind. We found these early explora- tions to be fruitful and decided to further our understanding of the aesthetic, fictional and medial factors being at work when aural environments trig- ger the human imagination. Against this backdrop, the present article is a working paper on ‘aurally induced mental imagery’ that covers a literature overview of the neuropsychology of the human imagination and discusses an eclectic corpus of sound work, which we query for the above-mentioned factors.

Unfrozen – a Design Research Reader by the Swiss Design Network, 2018

Acoustic Space Journal 17 - Virtualities and Realities – New Experiences, Art and Ecologies in Immersive Environments, 2019

The paper presents a Speculative Design installation that explores the use of binaural techniques... more The paper presents a Speculative Design installation that explores the use of binaural techniques for stimulating sensorial and rational immersion within a pedagogical thought experiment. Speculative Design is presented as a form of life-world fiction that aims at expanding the recipient’s existing aesthetic world knowledge as a specific form of creativity technique for ‘applied imagination’. A brief introduction to fictional theory is offered and extended by emphasising its potential interferences with the concept of sonic epistemologies or ‘acoustemologies’ found in the sonic cultural studies. Accordingly, our installation is placed in a trajectory with a selection of existing Speculative Design projects that focus on sound as both their primary subject and medium. The use of binaural techniques for the creation of virtual and augmented auditory spaces is presented as a concept of communications engineering and criticised by juxtaposing these techniques with strategies that rely more on fictional aesthetics instead of an excellence in technical simulation. The paper concludes with a discussion of headphone listening as a socialised cultural technique that can be aesthetically challenged for the stimulation of imaginative thought processes.
Keywords

Since the 1970s, interest in the ethical and the political has grown markedly within design. Both... more Since the 1970s, interest in the ethical and the political has grown markedly within design. Both in design practice and in theoretical works, ecological sustainability, social justice, and political expression are now considered yardsticks of responsibility towards society in many fields. Interestingly, over the same period an “ethical turn” has unfolded within the social sciences
and humanities, calling for a self-reflexive discourse on the growing importance of the ethical dimension in conflicts affecting society as a
whole. In the following, I will draw on this discourse, which has to date received little attention within design theory, for an epistemology of moral design.

Narratives at the Beginning of the 3rd Millennium, 2016

This article introduces narratives in art and design that foster animistic mimesis. The argument ... more This article introduces narratives in art and design that foster animistic mimesis. The argument is that narrational design is suited to leave the circle of anthropocentric fictionalization and anthropomorphism as ascription by an author.

Dörrenbächer Judith; Zeller, Ludwig: Wicked Games. Insights through Mimesis in Narrative Experiments. In: Homberg Schramm, Jessica; Rasokat, Anna; Schweiker, Felicitas (Eds.): Narratives at the Beginning of the 3rd Millennium. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle 2016.

Shaping Future. Neue Methoden für Partizipation in Forschung und Innovation, 2017

In den letzten Jahrzehnten gerät die Vorhersagbarkeit und Planbarkeit sozio-technologischer Entwi... more In den letzten Jahrzehnten gerät die Vorhersagbarkeit und Planbarkeit sozio-technologischer Entwicklungen zunehmend unter den Verdacht, ihre Belast barkeit zu verlieren. Ausgehend von Bruno Gransches Annahme einer »Akzidenzgesellschaft«, die sich vor allem durch Veränderlichkeit und Unabwägbarkeit ihrer selbst vergewissert, untersucht der vorliegende Aufsatz die Flexibilität unserer gesellschaftlichen Imaginationswerkzeuge zwischen institutioneller Technik folgen-Abschätzung, demokratischer Deliberation und unternehmerischer Zukunftsvision. Es wird argumentiert, dass eine vor allem durch Kontingenz bestimmte Gesellschaft die Teilhabe an Technikentwicklung nicht nur als ein Instrument zur Aufnahme von Bürgerwünschen verstehen sollte, sondern ebenso als eine Aufforderung zur gemeinsamen Aushandlung pluralistischer Technikvisionen. Im vorliegenden, kurzen Aufsatz werden einige Überlegungen des Technikphilosophen Bruno Gransche zusammengefasst und mit einer aktuellen Bestandsaufnahme der institutionellen Technikfolgen-Abschätzung in den westlichen Industrieländern abgeglichen. Ausgehend von einem philosophischen und diskurstheoretischen Ansatz sollen Grundsteine für eine Aktualisierung der Praxis der partizipativen Technikentwicklung und der Technikfolgen-Abschätzung in zukünftigen Projektvorhaben gelegt werden. Als Systemtheoretiker wusste Niklas Luhmann, welche Effekte Komplexitätssteigerungen für eine Gesellschaft bedeuten: »[…] das Ausmaß an Variabilität hat mit der Komplexität des Gesellschaftssystems zugenommen, und das bestimmt die semantischen Formen, die für eine Beschreibung der Zukunft in Betracht kommen« (Luhmann 2006: 130). Unsere zunehmende Technisierung und Pluralisierung führt also zu einem Zuwachs an gewollter wie auch ungewollter Komplexität und somit zu einer Steigerung der Variabilität, die letztlich in eine Reduktion der Vorhersehbarkeit mündet. Und eine sich dergestalt verändernde Gesellschaft passt ihre Sprechweisen über und Verhaltensweisen gegenüber dem Zukünftigen entsprechend an.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2014