AI Murmurings

From the poetics of matter to ‘machines of loving grace,’ this conversation with artist Oscar Santillán charts a course through subtly networked ecologies of knowledge—and the unknown—that he calls ‘Antimundo.’ He describes how his practice is animated by research into technologies both ancient and emerging, ponders noise as a strategy for AI, and explains how an indigenous coding device from the Andes might offer relational clues to the future.
 
The image here is  part of the project 'Solaris' as described in the episode. Courtesy of Oscar Santillán.

Can embracing the world in billion year chunks help us navigate the future of AI? In an inspired conversation with Dakin Hart, Senior Curator at the Noguchi Museum in New York, this episode focuses on the life and work of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Covering topics both earthbound and cosmic, we ponder the past, present, and possible future(s) of humanity through Noguchi’s lens of hybridity, ‘voidiness,’ and the in-between.
image: Isamu Noguchi at home in Mure (Shikoku, Japan), c. 1975. Photo by Michio Noguchi. Courtesy of Noguchi Museum.
 

In this episode, dance artist and software engineer Siobhán K Cronin evokes spaces where the imaginations of artists and engineers can meet and collaborate. We discuss expanded practices of listening and ways to scale technological systems with care, as well as Siobhán’s forays into posthumanism that include dancing with the networks of an aspen stand, dreams of robotic companionship, and becoming apprenticed to the Pacific Ocean.
image: A screenshot from the video 'Harvest 128,' from Siobhán K. Cronin's 'Somatic Natural History Archive' (2009 to 2013)

This compelling and far-reaching conversation with Monica Narula of Raqs Media Collective explores themes of belonging, Not-Knowing, and machines as the materialization of desire. The discussion touches on Raqs projects old and new – including the 11th Yokohama Triennial they recently curated in Japan – and offers reflections on both the intensity of our present moment and the ‘afterglow’ we might experience in its wake.
image: Raqs Media Collective, 'Assurance Clock' (2018)

This conversation with Stephanie Rosenthal, director of Gropius Bau in Berlin, delves into the topic of Care in the institution’s recent programming. We hear about the diverse forms through which Care is expressed by artists, their intended healing effects on both visiting publics and the building itself, and how such artistic practices might inspire new directions for emerging technologies like AI.
image: a performance in Gropius Bau of Maria Hassabi's 'Forever' (2020)

An intimate and inspiring conversation with artist Rory Pilgrim and poet and disability advocate Carol R. Kallend. Together we explore their hopes for more conscious, creative, and caring relationships with robotic technologies. Leading into the podcast are gorgeous vocals by Robyn Haddon from the track ‘Erase’ that she co-wrote with Pilgrim for his 11-part music video album Software Garden (2016-18).
image: Rory Pilgrim, Software Garden (2018). HD film. Courtesy of andriesse eyck galerie

In this episode, artist and composer Jem Finer discusses his 1000-year-long music composition, Longplayer. He talks about his artistic process, ruminates on the value of the 'unknowable,’ and shares thoughts on what AI could learn from the artwork's unique approach to both temporality and community.
image: Jem Finer, sketch of Longplayer's orbits