An[0]ther {AI} in Art Summit 2019
Decolonizing Artificial Intelligence
and the Future of Art Making
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With the generous support of The Knight Foundation and Columbia Engineering (The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University), and in partnership with New Museum and NEW INC, An[0]ther {AI} in Art is an intimate gathering of artists, scholars, curators, technologists, community leaders, institutional influencers and decision makers to address gaps, challenges, and opportunities at the intersection of critical inquiry, art making and artificial intelligence. The three-day program will mine diverse perspectives in the ongoing discourse between citizen-users and the technology-making industry.
NEW YORK, April 19, 2019 - Artificial Intelligence promises drastic changes in every corner of our world, and the art world is no different. An[0]ther {AI} in Art Summit is an initiative that seeks to build a shared understanding of the present, and propose a radical view of the future – one that incorporates the voices of those historically excluded from participating in cultural dialogue, let alone shaping it.
“As the role of art, tech, and media evolve, we must ensure that we don't lose sight of including the voices and ideals of diverse communities. The challenges we face will require bridging gaps between the tech and creative world to ensure the future we build together is both inclusive and equitable,” said Anne del Castillo, Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).
"AI is everywhere and has only just begun to be felt in the world of making art. The merging of art and tech will play a pivotal role in every aspect of our lives. We must challenge individuals, communities, and institutions alike to break down barriers in order to build a more shared, interactive, and diverse future that sees value in everyone's story," said Alberto Ibargüen, President of the Knight Foundation.
There’s a massive gap between high-level conversations about the potential to merge art and technology, and what’s actually happening on the ground. “If AI is to drive the development of new media for artistic creation, it will require a set of visual and conceptual vocabularies along with technical toolsets for artists to design and implement within this new field,” said founder Amir Baradaran. “We also must ensure that the future of AI and art-marking are filled with diverse and collaborative voices who are focused on building a radical future for and with all of us.”
“Creativity flourishes at the intersections of different disciplines, and this is especially true for art and engineering, which are among the most inventive pursuits,” said Mary Boyce, Dean of Columbia Engineering. “By bringing together so many people from the art, engineering, and technology worlds, we hope that this summit will spur collaborations that will propel AI, as well as AR and VR, into the next generation of artistic endeavor.”
An[0]ther {AI} in Art Summit will unite visionary practitioners, scholars, institutional stakeholders, and community and tech industry leaders; unpack philosophical and social issues deriving from the use of AI in art making as well as the role of artists and the art world ecosystem in shaping the promise of technological development; produce a set of framing questions around the use of AI within the art world and beyond that present a radical vision of the future; document and publish our approach, process, and findings for the public.
SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE
Alberto Ibargüen (President and CEO, Knight Foundation)
Anne del Castillo (Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment)
Cathy O’Neil (Mathematician and Author)
George Zarkadakis (Author, AI engineer, and entrepreneur)
Victoria Vesna (Director, Art and Science Center, UCLA)
Dr. Zia Khan (Vice President, Innovation, The Rockefeller Foundation)
Kamal Sinclair, (Director, Future of Culture Initiative & New Frontier Lab, Sundance Institute)
Karen Wong (Deputy Director, New Museum)
William Uricchio (Principal Investigator, Open Documentary Lab, MIT)
Toshie Takahashi (Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Professor, Waseda University, Tokyo)
Eva Kozanecka (Google AI + Art)
Loretta Todd (Metis Cree Canadian film director, producer, activist, storyteller, and writer)
Justin Hendrix (CEO, NYC Media Lab)
Jose Diaz (Chief Curator, Warhol Museum)
Steve Feiner (Director of CGUI Lab, Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Columbia University)
Newman (Principal, metaLAB, Harvard University)
Stephanie Dinkins (Artist and Professor, Data & Society)
Gideon Mann (Head of Data Science, Bloomberg)
Tomas Garcia (VP, Technology and Digital Media, LACMA)
Caspar Sonnen (New Media Coordinator, IDFA)
Complete participant list available here
PROGRAMMING DETAILS
Opening Kickoff Event: Wednesday, April 24th (Open to the Public)
The Opening Kickoff on Wednesday, April 24th at the New Museum’s Theater will share insight around artificial intelligence in its current and speculative relationship to art, narrative, and the human imagination.
Welcoming Remarks
Anne del Castillo, commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME)
Keynote Speakers
Keynote speakers are introduced by Isolde Brielmaier, Curator and Assistant Professor, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU
Amir Baradaran, Founder, An[0]ther {AI} in Art, Columbia University
Topic: Decolonizing the Artistic Imagination
Kamal Sinclair, Director, Future of Culture Initiative & New Frontier, Sundance Institute
Topic: Radical Opportunities and Immersive Experiences
Dr. Zia Khan, Vice-President, Innovation, the Rockefeller Foundation
Topic: The role of Institutions in AI and Art
George Zarkadakis, AI engineer, novelist, entrepreneur, and author of In Our Own Image: The History and Future of Artificial Intelligence
Topic: The stories we tell, the machines we build
Panel Q&A: George Zarkadakis, Kamal Sinclair, Amir Baradaran, Dr. Zia Khan
Moderator: Isolde Brielmaier
Summit Days: Thursday, April 25th and Friday, April 26th
Throughout the summit, presenters and workshop sessions will cover the broad intersection of AI and the entire art sector. Topics will range in breadth from mapping out the ecosystem and the myriad ways AI will intercede in every corner of the sector, to deep discussions on the need to take a decolonizing approach to the development of algorithms and to media forms writ large. Building at the intersection of theory and practice, we will explore “Tools and Methods of Authorship” while also “Speculating on the future aesthetics of form and narrative.” Programming will range from presentations to workshops culminating in our collective point of view on an ideal trajectory for the development of AI that addresses ethical concerns by weaving together critical inquiry and social impact (Full schedule here).
FOUNDER
Amir Baradaran is a New York-based Iranian-Canadian ARtificial artist. As Creative Research Associate and Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Baradaran is developing iBegoo, a software that serves as a new platform to democratize the process of writing interactive stories. The software uses Artificial Intelligence to automate designing animations and creating spherical narratives in Augmented Reality. He is also a member of Columbia University Digital Storytelling Lab. Baradaran examines AR and AI technologies’ implications of interactivity, non-linear narrative formation, data-mining, failed utopias, racialized and gendered bodies, infiltration, and the ephemeral. He is the recipient of The Knight Foundation Arts Challenge, and the Canada Council for the Arts 150th Anniversary Award. He is the founder of AnOther {AI} in Art, a global platform to decolonize the future of artificial intelligence and art making (produced in partnership with the New Museum and NEW INC). He is currently working on two large-scale immersive public ARt installations in Miami & Montreal.
For more information, please contact press@anotherai.art.