Springer Series on Cultural Computing Naoko Tosa Cross-Cultural Computing: An Artist's Journey Springer Series on Cultural Computing Editor-in-Chief Ernest Edmonds, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Editorial Board Frieder Nake, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany Nick Bryan-Kinns, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK Linda Candy, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia David England, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK Andrew Hugill, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Shigeki Amitani, Adobe Systems Inc., Tokyo, Japan Doug Riecken, Columbia University, New York, USA Jonas Lowgren, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden [email protected] More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10481 [email protected] Naoko Tosa Cross-Cultural Computing: An Artist’s Journey [email protected] Naoko Tosa Kyoto University K y o to , Japan ISSN 2195-9056 ISSN 2195-9064 (electronic) Springer Series on Cultural Computing ISBN 978-1-4471-6511-8 ISBN 978-1-4471-6512-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-6512-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015957194 Springer London Heidelberg New York Dordrecht © Springer-Verlag London 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer-Verlag London Ltd. is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) [email protected] Foreword The Cultural Computing Series is showing how the centre of computing has moved away from the concerns of the technology itself, and the early technically oriented applications, into the much more signifi cant domain of the very culture of our lives. For a long time now we have seen the importance of computing in every aspect of work, from the manufacturing plant to the offi ce and the corner shop. The tight coupling of computer developments with communications technologies has enabled the construction of the Internet and the Web, without which many people today feel completely lost. This all-pervasive presence of computing very naturally changes the cultural context of our lives. It changes our relationships, our understanding of others, our international perspectives and, more and more, the way that we make and relate to art and entertainment of almost every form. To take one example, innovation in the products and systems that surround us comes from design. Innovation in design is frequently inspired by art. Art is where we can fi nd signifi cant pointers to the future of computing and its likely impact on the world around us. Another example is that today, through the new technologies, we cross cultural boundaries with ease. On the day that I am writing this I am having physical meet- ings with people in England and virtual ones with people in both Australia and China. This does not mean that cultural differences disappear, but it at least means that they become more obvious and important. Will there be one global culture in the future? Will new cultural patterns emerge? This book tackles these issues from the perspective of a cross-cultural artist to whom technology is central. Her experience and knowledge place her in an ideal position to illuminate several key aspects of cultural computing. Although this is not the fi rst book in the series, conversations with Naoko Tosa were important in form- ing the idea of creating Springer’s Cultural Computing books. Her story is a special one today but one that may be a model of many stories of the future. Peak District, UK Ernest Edmonds November 2015 v [email protected] [email protected] Acknowledgments Art and technology research that began in the 1960s has, to this point, not been pres- ent in the relatively disconnected culture of now. Indeed, as for culture and comput- ing, this is perhaps the biggest challenge. However, for me, there is a working relationship between art and technology research, and it seems that now is the time when IT can be connected by the cloud network, for technology and culture link continents, creating a new digital cultural world. Through this book, it was my aim to express this idea to the world. However, the situation was complicated because this is a new concept, and therefore, it would not have been possible to publish a book in such a new genre. Under these circumstances, however, Springer has made the new genre possible via a new cultural computing genre. To achieve this endeavor, there were two people who made great efforts over the long run. Helen Desmond, editor of Springer, invited me to publish this kind of novel work. And, Professor Ernest Edmond, the editor of the Cultural Computing series, was the fi rst to recog- nize the value of this book. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to these two people – I am so grateful. Professor David J Dalsky, a colleague of mine at Kyoto University, did his best to brush up my English, and fi nally, by my side, always, I wish to deeply thank Professor Ryohei Nakatsu, my partner in life. vii [email protected] [email protected] Contents 1 Introduction – The Discovery of Cultural Computing .......................... 1 1.1 Media to Supplement Thinking and Memorization ........................... 1 1.1.1 The Transcendental (Cross-Cultural) Artist ......................... 2 1.1.2 Cultural Poiesis .................................................................... 4 1.2 From Occidental Unconsciousness to the Eastern Shan Shui Paintings ........................................................................... 5 1.2.1 “Neuro-Baby” Connecting Here and There ......................... 5 1.2.2 MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies ............................ 6 1.2.3 We Cannot Remove Our Culture.......................................... 7 1.2.4 Technologies Combined with the Spirit ............................... 9 1.2.5 Meeting the Shan Shui Master ............................................. 10 1.3 Cultural Structure Becomes a Communication Technology .............. 12 1.4 Characteristics of Japanese Language ............................................... 13 1.5 Japanese Design ................................................................................. 14 1.6 Computers Do Not Have a Cultural Information Hierarchy that Is Indispensable for Symbiosis with Humans ............................. 14 References ................................................................................................... 15 2 Computing Feelings .................................................................................. 17 2.1 Media Art, Culture, and Feelings ....................................................... 17 2.1.1 Mediation ............................................................................. 17 2.1.2 The Defi nition and Classifi cation of Media Art ................... 18 2.1.3 Applications of Media Art to Culture................................... 20 2.1.4 Communication of Feelings Between Humans and Machines ....................................................................... 23 2.1.5 Realizing Empathy ............................................................... 24 2.2 “Neuro-Baby”: Voice-Based Recognition/Generation of Feelings .... 25 2.2.1 Japanese Love the ‘Humanoid’ ............................................ 25 2.2.2 Human Feeling Recognition and Generation ....................... 26 2.2.3 A Cue to Birth ...................................................................... 26 2.2.4 Predawn ................................................................................ 27 ix [email protected] x Contents 2.2.5 Interactive Design of “Neuro-Baby” .................................... 28 2.2.6 Technology of “Neuro-Baby” .............................................. 29 2.2.7 Flow of the Entire System .................................................... 31 2.2.8 Phonetic Feature Extraction ................................................. 31 2.2.9 Emotion Recognition ........................................................... 33 2.2.10 Emotion Recognition Engine Between Different Cultures ................................................................ 34 2.3 Cross-Cultural E-mail Software with Emotion Translation ............... 35 2.3.1 Emotional Translation in E-mail .......................................... 35 2.3.2 Emotion Translation of E-mail Using “Neuro-Baby” .......... 36 2.3.3 Emotional Translation Character in a Computer Network ....................................................... 38 References ..................................................................................................