Lily Week 2: Combinatory Poetics

Chapter Two explores combinatory poetics, which is a method of composition that relies on algorithmic techniques to generate texts. The chapter shows how digital technology has expanded these principles and enabled texts to rearrange themselves, producing unexpected narratives. Combinatory Poetics is not as simple as it may seem though, Rettburg highlights how the lack of human intuition needed for this technique raises questions of its validity. If the narratives being produced could be rearranged infinitely, does the text still hold a central theme or narrative? Rettburg notes this, arguing that combinatory works to balance structure with intent. I think that this relates back to the idea of AI, and whether or not AI generated art is truly art, because it lacks the human intent and emotion behind its work. When it comes to modern technology, the ideas of its use versus harm will likely be debated for decades to come. 

I decided to explore Storyland, which I originally found to be confusing but figured out after a few tries. While the song is cute, the content is not exactly perfect. The idea of the generated story is an interesting concept, and although the stories it produces are interesting to say the least, they are still stories. A more modern version of this would certainly be engaging, as I know there are many sites now that do the same thing at a more rapid pace.