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A call on poetry and artificial intelligence
In recent years, human beings have taken an enormous step forward in creating machine learning programs: the tools of so-called generative artificial intelligence can now create texts, images, and computer codes comparable to those written and produced by human beings. As Italian writer Italo Calvino noted, the human being understands ‘how to disassemble and reassemble the most complicated and most unpredictable of all his machines: language’ (Cibernetica e Fantasmi, 1967-68).
However, what happens when language disassembled by artificial intelligence meets poetic writing through its authors?
Sineglossa, in collaboration with the poetry festival La punta della Lingua, attempts to answer this question with an exhibition that will be held in Recanati from 15 to 30 December 2023, and a poetry competition that will be open from 30 October to 3 December 2023. The aim: to explore the world of poetry produced with artificial intelligence, by artificial intelligence, and about artificial intelligence.
The competition and the exhibition CIBERNETICA E FANTASMI are supported by the Marche Region – Department of Culture.
To whom it is addressed
The competition aims to get to know, promote and support new methods of poetic production and experimentation in which artificial intelligence enters the writing process as creative partners or co-authors, but poems written entirely by human beings, with artificial intelligence as a theme, are also accepted. The call is open to anyone, aged 18 or under, whether they already have a track record in the field of poetry writing or want to experiment with collaboration with artificial intelligence for the first time.
Poems in any language are accepted, provided that, in the case of languages other than Italian, subtitles are also submitted.
Prize and award ceremony
The competition has only one winning poem. Its author or author will receive a purchase voucher to the value of €500, at a physical or digital point of sale of their choice. More details will be provided to the winner. The shortlist of finalist poems will be announced by 6 December. The winning poem will be announced on the 15th of December, in the setting of the CIBERNETICA E FANTASMI exhibition.
How to participate
- Each author can submit only one poem, of a maximum of 40 lines, accompanied by a text describing the creation process, of 1000 characters including spaces.
- Participation in the competition requires the payment of an entry fee of 5€ per poem. Payment can be made by bank transfer in the name of Sineglossa, IBAN IT18X0306909606100000078497.
- The entry fee cannot be refunded under any circumstances.
All materials (poetic text, text describing the process, any subtitles, and proof of payment of the registration fee) must be uploaded on the following Google Form: https://forms.gle/mAQoiqpfYZnFrCeG7
Registration must be completed no later than 11.59 p.m. on 3 December 2023.
The Jury
The poems received will be assessed by a jury composed of:
- Roberta Iadevaia, independent researcher, author of the essay Per una storia della letteratura elettronica italiana (Mimesis Edizioni, 2021);
- Luigi Socci, artistic director of La Punta della Lingua;
- Valerio Cuccaroni, artistic director of La Punta della Lingua;
- Federico Bomba, artistic director of Sineglossa and researcher at the Human-Technology Lab of the Free University of Bozen/Bolzano;
- Fabrizio Venerandi, writer, poet and programmer.
