Unsettling robots and the future of art Unsecured Futures Lucy Seal, curator The Barn Gallery, St John's College, University of Oxford Through 6 July 2019

Abstract

My train ride from London to Oxford is filled with anticipation. Having just watched the latest season of Black Mirror, I anticipate the same blending of wit, unintended consequences, and dystopian paradox from the new exhibition that has just opened at the Barn Gallery in St John's College, Oxford. Unsecured Futures is the solo show of the first ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist, Ai-Da. A versatile artist, Ai-Da dabbles in drawing and painting as well as sculpture and performance. "She" is the result of a large multidisciplinary team that features artists, curators, computer scientists from the universities of Oxford and Leeds, and Cornwall-based company Engineering Arts Ltd. The press release feeds my sense of expectation, promising me that she is absolutely unique: "Ai-Da's ability as a robot to draw and paint from sight has never been achieved before and makes Ai-Da an artist in her own right, as well as a world first."

AI art and public literacy: the miseducation of Ai-Da the robot

“…What emerges from Gomez's account is a completely different picture of Ai-Da's capabilities and of its collaboration with the human members of the project. Indeed, one cannot but agree with Ambrosio's remarks that "Gomez's clear answers remain overshadowed-in the exhibition as well as in the press-by the hype around a female-presenting robot that produces original art" [2]: 39]. It is thus important to reflect on the theoretical assumptions behind the decision to conceal information about the nature of this instance of human-machine interaction, something usually disclosed in the case of AI-generated art as it is considered to be integral to the artwork.…”

“…Before that date, the robot could only draw whatever the cameras located in its eyes captured. According to the labels accompanying Ai-Da's paintings showcased at the robot's first solo exhibition in Oxford in 2019, the coordinates from Ai-Da's drawings were then "plotted onto the Cartesian plane and then run through AI algorithms" [2]: 39]. This, one may reasonably presume, was to add a whimsical element to the otherwise realistic drawings, probably through the implementation of non-photorealistic rendering techniques [68].…”

“…This, one may reasonably presume, was to add a whimsical element to the otherwise realistic drawings, probably through the implementation of non-photorealistic rendering techniques [68]. Then, the "digital versions of the artworks were transferred to canvas and overlaid with oil paint by artist Suzie Emery," as Chiara Ambrosio [2]: 39], Professor of Science and Technology at UCL reported back from her visit to Ai-Da's first exhibition in Oxford. Ambrosio's account is the only source that provides evidence of the fundamental role of Suzie Emery in creating the paintings.…”

“…pdf), in line with the official mission of the project. shared creative process behind the paintings, as he is the one choosing the colour palette, although it is "the network's responses that dictate which colour lands at each point on the canvas, the lightness, the intensity, and so forth" [2]: 39]. Moreover, in an email to Ambrosio, Gomez stressed that "Emery's artistic input is the decisive factor in the final form of the paintings" [2]: 39].…”