The Medium Is The Massage

By Pauline Oliveros

According to Ray Kurzweil in his new book "The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence":

"In a hundred years there may be no clear distinction between humans and computers. There will be enormous augmentation of human perceptual and cognitive abilities through neural implant technology. Humans who do not use such implants are unable to participate in meaningful dialogue with those who do — knowledge is understood instantaneously through assimilated knowledge protocols. The goal of education and intelligent beings is discovering new knowledge to learn."

The speculations for the future in Kurzweil's book and others, concerning self-aware machines with the ability to reproduce into future generations with patterns of matter and energy that can perpetuate themselves and survive, set me wondering. It's already evident that computer and human intelligence are merging. What would I want on a musician chip if I were to receive the benefit of neural implant technology? What kind of a 21^st-century musician could I be? Humans with the aid of technology already see and hear far beyond the capability of the unaided senses. It's not long, according to Kurzweil, before such aids will be available at the personal level as implants, like personal computers or digital assistants. All of us Improvisers could have new input from this and new challenges. I'll return to the question of my musician chip after looking back a hundred years for some reminders and highlights:

Now for what I would want on my Musician chip. What skills should the twenty-first century musician have? What could she know?

On my musician chip I would like:

The ability to recognize and identify instantaneously any frequency or combination of frequencies in any tuning or timbre, in any tempo or rhythm, in any style of music or sound in any space.

The ability to produce any frequency or sound in any tuning, timing, timbre, dynamic and articulation within the limits of the selected instruments or voices used. Maybe I would also like to morph from any instrument to any other instrument or voice. At will.

The ability to recognize, identify and remember any music — its parts as well as the whole, no matter the complexity.

The ability to perceive and comprehend inter-dimensional spatiality.

The ability to understand the relational wisdom that comprehends the nature of musical energy — its form, parts and underlying spirituality — as the music develops in performance.

The ability to perceive and comprehend the spiritual connection and interdependence of all beings and all creation as the basis and privilege of music making.

The ability to create community and healing through music making.

The ability to sound and perceive the far reaches of the universe much as whales sound and perceive the vastness of the oceans. This could set the stage for inter-dimensional galactic improvisations with yet unknown beings.

I suppose it would be great to be able to print it all out as well in 3D color.

- Pauline Oliveros is a musician and composer. She is also author of "The Roots of the Moment and Sonic Meditations."