08 — Glossary

Glossary

A dynamic, expanding wiki of concepts that anchor the project.

59 concepts available

  • Agency denotes the ability of individuals or entities - be they human, non-human, or posthuman - to operate autonomously and make independent choices.

  • Agentic AI refers to AI agents that can reason and act autonomously to achieve goals, going through stages of perceiving their environment, reasoning, acting on a plan, and observing the results.

  • Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term coined in the 1950s, which has been applied to a range of different technologies.

  • The concept of assemblage within the context of artistic and philosophical discourse is complex and multifaceted.

  • Blockchain is a system for recording transactions or data across a network of computers in a way that ensures the security, transparency, and immutability of the data.

  • ChatGPT is an advanced artificial intelligence program developed by OpenAI that specializes in generating human-like text responses based on the input it receives.

  • The creative economy, as discussed in the context of Web3 and blockchain technology in music, encompasses the intersection of art, culture, technology, and economics, leveraging innovations like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain to redefine value creation and exchange in the creative sectors.

  • Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that use cryptography for security and operate on decentralized networks based on blockchain technology.

  • Cybernetics is a field of study that explores the systems of control and communication in living beings and machines.

  • DAOs are blockchain-based entities that operate without centralized control, governed by rules encoded as smart contracts.

  • Decentralization refers to the distribution of power, authority, or resources away from a central location or governing body.

  • Decentralized creative networks, introduced by Adam Lukawski in his chapter in Decentralized Music: Exploring Blockchain for Artistic Research (2024, CRC Press, Taylor&Francis), are envisioned as blockchain-based post-human social networks where artists and AI agents collaborate to develop and exchange composable artistic processes.

  • Decentralized Music is a term manufactured for the title of Decentralized Music: Exploring Blockchain for Artistic Research (2024, CRC Press, Taylor&Francis) to propose an overarching conceptual and philosophical rethinking of musical creation, distribution, and ownership through technological management of digital musical interactions, processes, and networks without central authorities.

  • Digital humanities is an interdisciplinary domain that merges digital technologies with the diverse fields of the humanities, such as literature, history, arts, philosophy, and cultural studies.

  • Digital scarcity is the practice of deliberately limiting the availability of digital assets to create rarity and uniqueness in a realm where duplication is typically effortless and infinite.

  • A distributed database is a database configuration where data is stored across various locations or nodes instead of a single central site.

  • The double-spending problem is a digital currency issue where the same funds can be spent more than once.

  • Eco-friendly consensus methods, such as Proof of Stake (PoS), are approaches used in blockchain technology to validate transactions and maintain network security with minimal environmental impact.

  • Ethereum blockchain is a decentralized platform known for its smart contract functionality.

  • Feature engineering is the technique of transforming raw data into structured, relevant variables that better inform machine learning models.

  • Fractional ownership is a model where multiple parties can share and divide ownership of a high-value asset, such as real estate, artwork, or digital assets like NFTs.

  • A fungible token is a type of digital asset that is interchangeable with others of the same type, meaning each token has the same value and properties as another identical token.

  • Generative art is a creative practice where artists use autonomous systems, such as algorithms, to generate artwork.

  • Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence algorithms designed to create new content, including text, images, audio, and video, by learning patterns and features from existing data.

  • Governance tokens are digital assets in blockchain platforms that grant holders voting rights on decisions within a decentralized project or organization.

  • Hypermusic, as developed by Paulo de Assis, is an expanded concept of music that incorporates a multimodal array of elements beyond mere auditory experiences.

  • The concept of hyperobjects was introduced by philosopher Timothy Morton, referring to vast, intangible entities that are so large and complex that they transcend specific locations, times, and understandings.

  • Blockchain interoperability refers to the ability of different blockchain systems to communicate, share information, and conduct transactions with each other seamlessly.

  • Intra-actions, a term coined by American feminist theorist and physicist Karen Barad, redefines the traditional notion of interactions.

  • A Large Language Model (LLM) is an advanced AI system designed to understand, generate, and interact with human language at scale.

  • Live Coding is a performance art and technique where artists write and modify code in real time to create music, visuals, or both, often in front of an audience.

  • Machine Learning is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that enables systems to learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.

  • Metastability, as conceptualized by Gilbert Simondon, refers to a state of dynamic equilibrium where a system maintains balance amid the potential for transformation.

  • The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality, augmented reality (AR), and the internet.

  • Micro-ontology refers to a detailed and specific framework within the broader field of ontology, focusing on the categorization and relationships of very specific concepts or entities within a narrow domain.

  • The MIDI Format, an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a technical standard that allows musical instruments, computers, and other electronic equipment to communicate, control, and synchronize with each other.

  • Traditionally, a musical work is considered a unique creation of art expressed through sound and composed by an individual or a group.

  • The reimagined view of a musical work, challenging its conventional boundaries, as proposed by Paulo de Assis in his book Logic of Experimentation (2018).

  • Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are uniquely identifiable data units that can store information such as a certificate of authenticity, a record of ownership of a digital asset.

  • On-chain refers to transactions and data recorded directly on a blockchain, ensuring transparency and immutability.

  • Ontogenesis, often synonymous with ontogeny, describes the development and growth of an organism from the earliest stage to its mature form.

  • Partial-scores, as conceptualized in Einar Torfi Einarsson's chapter in Decentralized Music: Exploring Blockchain for Artistic Research (2024, CRC Press, Taylor&Francis), represent notated or inscribed pages that are the foundational units of a novel compositional system.

  • Performative transactions, as defined in Adam Lukawski's chapter in Decentralized Music: Exploring Blockchain for Artistic Research (2024, CRC Press, Taylor&Francis), are specialized artistic interactions that integrate both human creativity and AI contributions within a collaborative framework.

  • In the context of AI and creative technologies, prompt refers to the input given to an AI model to generate a response or output.

  • Proof of Creative Contribution (PoCC) is a blockchain protocol to validate and enhance the collaborative music composition process within decentralized frameworks.

  • Proof of Stake (PoS) is a consensus mechanism used by blockchain networks to validate transactions and create new blocks.

  • Proof of Work (PoW) is a consensus algorithm used in various blockchain networks to validate transactions and add new blocks to the chain.

  • Musical set theory provides concepts for categorizing musical objects and describing their relationships.

  • Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into lines of code.

  • A token in the context of blockchain technology represents a unit of value issued by a project or organization.

  • Transduction is a concept introduced by French philosopher Gilbert Simondon.

  • Transformational theory in music, developed by David Lewin, focuses on relationships between musical objects rather than the objects themselves.

  • The term transindividual in Simondon's philosophy refers to the process and state that transcends both individual and collective dimensions.

  • Turing-completeness refers to a system's ability to perform any possible calculation or solve any computational problem, given enough time and resources.

  • In the context of computation, virtual refers to a representation or simulation of a real-world process, object, or environment on a computer system.

  • In Gilles Deleuze's philosophy, the virtual and the actual are two interrelated dimensions of reality.

  • Virtual and augmented realities refer to immersive digital experiences.

  • Often confused with Web3, Web 3.0 refers to the semantic web and the evolution of web utilization and interaction.

  • Web3 represents the next phase of the internet, focusing on decentralized networks and blockchain technology.