James Graham Ballard, a novelist known for his interest in science fiction, was deeply intrigued by the potential of computers during the 1970s. During this era, Ballard chose to experiment with emerging computer technologies to create poetry.
Ballard highlighted in his autobiography ‘Miracles of Life’ that he, along with a psychologist Dr Christopher Evans, published a “remarkable series of computer-generated poems” in Ambit – a literary quarterly magazine where he was a prose editor during the 1970s.
According to a BBC report, several works from this series, specifically mentioned by Ballard, were apparently created by computers and featured in the magazine between 1972 and 1977. The first of these collections was named “The Yellow Back Novels,” followed by another in 1974 called ‘Machine Gun City’.
Ballard’s early exploration of computer-generated poetry
Decades later, Ballard’s pioneering work with computer-generated poetry seems to have anticipated the development of generative AI, which today is used to create music, write stories, and even produce art.
In a 2004 interview, author Vanora Bennett spoke with JG Ballard about his unique method of addressing societal trends, suggesting that he had an ability to detect imminent changes within a community. Ballard responded by saying that he often perceived unusual or curious elements beneath the societal facade and used his novels to explore these aspects. He likened his approach to searching for “the hidden wiring and fuse box” behind unusual phenomena.
Ballard’s prophetic vision in science fiction
Ballard’s foresight into the advent of generative AI was evident long before it materialized. His literary work differed from traditional science fiction; rather than depicting distant futures or galaxies, he set his narratives in a “visionary present”—worlds that resembled the contemporary but included subtle deviations or exaggerated features. His stories frequently explored themes of societal disruption and the surreal nature of daily existence.
One of his narratives, “The Garden of Time” from The Complete Short Stories: Volume 1, inspired the theme for this year’s Met Gala, focusing on the concept of time and its flow.
The current landscape of AI-driven tools continues to dissolve the boundaries between human and machine creativity. Google’s Verse by Verse, for instance, assists users in crafting poetry by suggesting lines based on their inputs. Other platforms like Sora convert text into video, and Dall-E generates visual art from text prompts. In the realm of music, AI composers such as Aiva, Loudly, and MuseNet are capable of producing original musical scores.
