In this episode, Samuel Arbesman had the pleasure of speaking with Joel Simon. Joel is a fascinating creator who works at the intersection of art and computational research, particularly in the realm of AI and creativity. He is the creator of Artbreeder, a biologically inspired tool for navigating the space of AI images, and has also worked on many other projects, such as evolving floorplans, a digital puppet theater, and generating computational paintbrushes. He is also the author of a new essay entitled "Beyond Slop" which explores how to think about creativity and AI. https://www.joelsimon.net/beyond-slop

Samuel and Joel had a chance to discuss how Joel thinks about his work, the nature of evolutionary algorithms and his interest in them, and the origins of Artbreeder. They also spent time discussing his new essay, and the need for creating computational tools that expand self-expression rather than limiting it, and how to think more broadly about creativity and AI.