A Creative Body Born of AI is Not One

Alyssa Castillo Yap B’AI Graduate Student Member, M.A.S Student at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies 

Installation

As you stand in front of the mirror, the piece evolves with you as its user-slash-viewer. You are: a component, a reflection, and a counterpart to AI technologies today. You cannot be a passive audience. In this piece, what do you see? What does the frame obscure from visibility? Can you recognize the labours, materials, and histories that have constituted the evolution of your understanding of what is "artificial intelligence"?　

This installation is a representation of generative AI tools, especially programs that produce output images from text prompts. Let the mirror and the strings emphasize the complex neurological design of AI today. The hidden and often underpaid work that powers the modern demand for speedy production and increased profitability. Powerful cultural narratives have led to the reconfiguration of concepts like that of the nervous system, physiological, and psychological explanations of identity, and definitions of original artistry. How can we trace AI-generated images, knowledge, waste, and so on, to a single identifiable author?