Hello the MLE,

Reporting back from the AI: More Than Human exhibition at the Barbican.

Overall, it’s okay. It can be summed up as a barrage of examples of various AI-related objects and experiences. The only context provided is a crash course history of AI - which only added to the feeling of superficiality. With so many examples, there is little room for depth. 

The exhibition would have benefited by focusing on the only the past 20 years, which is already more than enough. This would allow for a deeper look, a linking between pieces, an insight into what is proving to become a reality and why this is significant, and so on. This would have made the exhibitions much more interesting and meaningful.

Of course, I was personally interested in examples of how AI may help save us from environmental destruction, as well as the ethical considerations.

On the positive end: Neri Oxman and Mediated Matter Group’s Synthetic Apiary creates the conditions for an eternal spring for bees; and the Personal Food Computer developed at MIT is a “slow robot” that proposes an alternative to environmentally ruinous agriculture.

On the negative end:
An open letter to pre-emptively ban lethal autonomous weapons. An Amnesty International website showing how the US-led coalition’s air strikes on Raqqa in Syria in the war against Islamic State — many of them carried out by AI drones — led to hundreds of civilian deaths. 

On the creepy end:
A video exploring the use of AI in China’s social credit system, set to roll out in 2020. This is depicted in a cute, colourful and fun animation focusing on all the positives, which is not at all appropriate for such a controversial topic.

And finally, I found it quite funny that there were a number of displays that were suffering technological malfunctions…. But at least the robot bartender was working! The future is bright!

Suzan

Hi MLE,

I know you have already seen this, but I am posting for the benefit of our science clients. I'm sure they will appreciate, as we have already had a right laugh about this many times...

#BadStockPhotosOfMyJob

Have a nice weekend!

Suzan

“The Human Cell Atlas is the most exciting initiative to come out of the life science community in a long time. In sickness and in health, cells are the fundamental units of life, and only by knowing our cells will we be able to fully comprehend the mechanisms of human disease.”

- Prof Sten Linnarsson, Professor of Molecular Systems Biology from the Karolinska Institute

[cvg-video videoId='1' width='457' height='257' mode='playlist' /]

Hi MLE,

As you know, a piece of art we created for the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge Massachusetts was officially presented last month - here is a preview. Will post more work soon that we did for this exciting event. A total joy to collaborate with this institute that is making such an impact.

Speak soon!

Suzan

 

 

Hey hey the MLE,

As you know, we share the MOTHandRUST London studio with a few other creatives, which is great and very inspiring. Well, if you actually take the time to talk to people, which I don't do cause I'm a bit of an antisocial workaholic.

Anyway, finally after about two years of sitting near Mr Tak Hoshino I actually stopped by his desk this morning to meet him and to see what he was doing. And I was amazed! I am sharing a studio space with a genius! Who would have known!?

Tak has his Masters in Civil Engineering and is an Architectural Design lecturer at the University of East London. This is one of his latest projects:

- Made a steel ring out of a rod and played for a while
- Replaced my hand holding the ring with an axel
- Replaced my hand holding the axel with a vertical rod
- Replaced my hand turning around the rod with a steering post
- Learn more here, with images:
Biofact

Here are this assumptions:

1. We makes artefacts (prosthetics) to support our biological (mental, physical and collective) existence.
2. Without them we cannot sustain our life
3. Therefore all artefacts are part of our biological existence (biofacts) as tools.
4. All tools have handles, connections to our bodies.
5. They are not supported by the genetic morphogenesis.
6. But by the support of our language (and the structure of social interactions)
Confused? Well, like I said, he is a genius, and as such he obviously is not easy to understand. Unless you speak with the man directly, and when you do it all makes sense…

He had a lovely video on his computer of this device in action, twirling beautifully around someone in a big room. The movements of both the person and machine together were so graceful.

Tak: So, I built my prototype and tested it out and thought - it could help teach people to dance!

Me: Of course, I love it!

Tak: But then I thought it could also serve to demonstrate the movements of the cosmos. The person is the Earth, the smaller wheel the moon, and the larger wheel the sun. Everything moves about the room using the same laws of physics as our solar system (talked in detail about physics here, no idea what he was on about).

Me (thinking in my head): So this is what this guy sitting near me does? WTF? Why don't I talk to people more often?

Me (speaking out loud): Of course, I totally understand! Can I write about this on my blog?
Suzan xxxx