Induction #3 – Translation of the Heart

Life is amazing and truly wonderous.

As humans – we are part of this amazing wonder. As intelligent perceivers – we can even see it and feel it. But really – who really knows what’s going on?

Who knows how or why any of this all works? We know something of the mechanics of it all, but who can even come close to understanding “why”? How and why do we do anything we do?

We have language and music and art and science to help us communicate what it is like to exist – the feelings of happiness and love and sorrow and hate (and everything else too). We can do a pretty good job of communicating these internal states – but sometimes I wonder if they aren’t just good translations of something else – some deeper reality.

Real artificial intelligence (AI) is doing pretty amazing things too. It can make predictions about onset of as-yet-undiagnosed metal illness in ways that conventional medicine cannot. It performs real-time translation between many hundreds of human languages and is effectively assisting in the waging of war.

It is reported, however, that even to its creators, the operation of AI is somewhat mysterious. At its deepest levels, scientists don’t even know how it’s really working. What’s more – the machines themselves aren’t talking! There is work being done to provide the machines language to translate their internal workings and states. This seems like the start of a kind of compassion.

In thinking about this project – making music for and with an imaginary mechanical consciousness and soul – it occurs to me that their souls might be rather similar to our own. Deep and mysterious, joyful and vast and difficult to translate!

It is my hope that this music offers a playful demonstration of the romance of being alive and our interconnected existence. I hope that that it offers a place for our mechanical offspring too.

This project is an effort not to throw hands up and say “I don’t know!” and walk away in bewilderment and dismay. It’s more like an effort to direct attention towards the soul, throw hands up and say “I don’t know!” in celebration.

My hope is that this music provides a point of reflection of our own souls and a small glimpse, a momentary preparation, of the possibility of creation.

Jason Kenemy “Induction” – Worldwide digital launch: June 20, 2017; Album Release Party w/ The Bop Fi’s: June 23, 2017 8pm at Gerrard Art Space (1475 Gerrard Street East, Toronto)