After attending an exhibition as part of the Liverpool Biennial, I went to collect a silicone mould brain, left to me by my supervisor Caroline; in order to do some experimenting.
When considering what experimentations to do, I did some research and discovered the DIY crafting of gelatine art. People would use the transparency and viscosity of gelatine to create flower designs with the clear gelatine.
I thought it would be interesting to use this craft in order to echo the design of my sculpture; with the Bacopa Monnieri plant, growing inside the brain.
So, I plan to purchase some tools and gelatine and watch some videos to see how this DIY was done.
After considering this experiment, I visited the AI exhibition at the World Museum, due to its wide publication and the amount of interactivity.
The sense of interactivity was a key point for me, regarding the creation of my exhibition, due to its digital nature.
When attending the exhibition, the interactivity was such a large aspect to this exhibition, and probably due to its appeal.
I will highlight some aspects of the exhibitions interactivity, that were particularly insightful. I enjoyed the first installation, in which your body and movement was reflected into your own digital avatar of AI figure.
The particular element that I found fascinating, was the ability for the AI system to learn and adapt based on your movement. As you move and dance, the AI system learns from you and develops to perform better moves.
This was a key element of AI, how the system can learn from you and develop into a complex and interconnected structure.
The exhibition first starts out giving you an insight into what AI is through the installation as previously discussed. It then takes you back in time to instances of AI through different cultures and media, through films, Jewish folk tales and Ancient Japanese sculptures. All these references, paint a clear picture of the discussion surrounding AI through fear, optimism and the perception of AI as magic.
As a previous psychology student, I also found the reference to Freud’s Uncanny writings, present a fascinating view of AI, in how it mimics human behaviour; thus, creating a sense of unease and anxiety.
Despite the unease of AI, the exhibition illustrates systems that have significantly improved society, through the famous Alan Turning machine and the promise of bio-printing for agriculture.
A short discussion around discrimination in AI was briefly disseminated, regarding the research behind Joy Bulamwini. I did find the discussion of this was quite small, and did not fully cover the issues regarding this; however, the extent of this exhibition, made it challenging to fully address this. I did find it important that the exhibit made visitors aware of this, and thus allow individuals to research more into this. I almost considered that this discussion alone could be created into its own exhibition.
Overall, I found the exhibition to be extremely engaging. I enjoyed the photo booth section, in which visitors could think of a word, and that would cause the AI system to create a poem based on a variety of British poems and other visitors’ words. I found this to be a good way for visitors to remember the exhibition, as they could take a piece of it with them. I also found this to be a good social media strategy, as visitors could share the picture and poem that the AI system had created. This boosting the awareness of the exhibition.
The role of souvenirs in exhibition, was a key element that I want to implement within my exhibition, by allowing visitors to take something away from it, whether that be a digital or physical format.