Tipping Point of Technological Revolution and Multiple Perspectives at the Intersections of AI and Art
From October 4 to December 15, C-LAB will host the 2024 Future Media FEST exhibition under the theme Singularity, the second event in a series first launched in 2021. This year’s event is an exploration of the evolution of artificial intelligence and social implications, focusing on the latest developments and perspectives on AI that have emerged throughout the world. On November 1, C-LAB will also launch FUTURE VISION LAB 2024, an experimental exhibition program that challenges the visual limits of technology media. The pair of year-end events attempt to understand current and future creativity with audiences and envision the changing faces of progress in the human world.
As technological advancement accelerates worldwide, we are racing towards the singularity moment, a concept popularized by computer scientist and mathematician Vernor Vinge in 1993. This is a prediction of a moment when machine intelligence overtakes human intelligence, in an unprecedented “explosion” that will completely disrupt and revolutionize the future of human civilization. C-LAB Curator WU Dar-Kuen responds to AI’s breakneck evolution through the theme Singularity, organizing the exhibit into four thematic chapters, "Flowing Anchor", "Transformation of Creativity", "Creator's Insight", and "AI Ongoing". 23 artist groups from 9 countries have been invited to exhibit 26 exciting works that demonstrate the applications of AI technology in the field of art and explore how technology influences the outcomes of culture and society.
In the first chapter of Singularity, “Flowing Anchor”, researchers LEE Chia-Lin and Eric TSAI of ZIMU CULTURE recount the progress of modern technology and the anchor points of AI development, exploring how technology has uprooted perceptions and values of society and recounting epoch-defining events, including the impact of AI in literature, art, and popular culture. New media art pioneer YUAN Goang-Ming deconstructs the civilized landscape of human physical space in his latest work Flat World. YUAN leverages the Google Street View database to group similar scenes of streets around the globe using human and AI processes, tiling these together to form a continuous landscape loop, mirroring the ways human perception of geography is constantly being reshaped, shifted, and circulated under the forces of technology.
The “Transformation of Creativity” chapter focuses on how AI has become a new force in artistic creation, and the ways audiences can reevaluate their role in an AI-generated environment. HYPER CURRENT’s Co-Infinite 3.0 recreates scenes of everyday life, from natural landscapes, architectural spaces, to facial expressions in the virtual sphere, constructing an alternative reality that’s familiar yet somewhat foreign. Audiences are not passive observers, but active participants in this ever-changing environment as they experience how AI constantly rewrites our concept of reality through algorithms.
“Creator's Insight” explores how technology provides artists with new perspectives and modes of expression using image generation, motion capture, game engine, and speculative design toolkits. Ever since the introduction of the first AI chatbot in 2022, artists have been intrigued by a robot’s capacity for independent thought. HUANG Zan-Lun, Luca BONACCORSI, and the art collective 2ENTER investigate the complex history and philosophy of robots and the Internet through their conversations with AI. WEI Ze and Riar RIZALDI create digital avatars to illustrate the relationship between technological society and labor capital. KIM Ayoung, LU Yang, and YUEN HSIEH, frequent guests of international technology art festivals, fashioned digital utopias that surpass traditional worlds using game engines and scripting languages. In a time where distinctions between organic lifeforms and artificial designs are blurring, YANG Sookyun, Yaloo, and Anke SCHIEMANN propose their respective imaginings of bionic lifeforms. These works not only challenge the senses but also prompt consideration of the deeper relationship between technology and mankind’s future.
“AI Ongoing” presents the infinite possibilities and challenges brought on by technological singularity. At this critical juncture, technology is not only an extension of human intelligence but also an important force in defining the future, pushing digital resilience to the fore. International nonprofit organization Tactical Tech will share its approach and expertise in its mission to increase resilience in the global community and shape the future of collective society, politics, and the environment in the context of digital revolutions. This exhibition guides the audience to think about the process of history and future evolution and contemplate the chapters that have yet to be written. The exhibition also features a series of lectures, tours, and workshops, inviting experts and scholars such as mashbean, Ethan TU, Floating Point Art, and visiting experts and curators of international organizations to extend the exhibited works with discussions on AI creation with the public. Professional guidance and interpretation on the exhibition will also be provided by the Curator of the Exhibition WU Dar-Kuen, Associate Professor HUNG Kuang-Chi of the Department of Geography at National Taiwan University, and Curator CHEN Hsiang-Wen of Digital Art Festival Taipei. More information is available for viewing on the website (https://2024fmf.clab.org.tw/).
FUTURE VISION LAB 2024 makes a return from November 1 to December 22 since its launch at the Future Media FEST in 2021. Over eight consecutive weekends, the program will present 16 exciting works and three promotional lectures and workshops from Taiwan, Germany, India, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Australia, Japan, Korea, and China. C-LAB FUTURE VISION LAB is an experimental exhibition program aimed at exploring the visual limits of technology media, exhibiting more than 100 works in four years. The “DOME 2.0” upgrade program, supported by the Ministry of Culture, was launched in 2023 to develop and realize the only 15-meter diameter outdoor dome theater (DOME) in Taiwan. Starting in 2024, C-LAB Technology Media Platform has actively explored and engaged in partnerships with domestic and foreign organizations to produce a range of exhibitions, screenings, and live performances that encapsulate the state of the art in hemispherical projection theater and dive into the sensory experiences of immersive content with creators.
Please refer to the media kit for more information： Media Kit