Idea
“On Prompt: Humanizing the Machine Self” is an exploration into the emergent dialogues between artificial intelligence and human essence, crystallized in an intermedial theater performance. Convening artists, researchers, and performers, the project engages in an experimental inquiry into what it means for AI to co-author our human experiences. By partnering AI-generated dramaturgical instructions with sensor-motion control, voice recognition, and field recording, the performance challenges traditional theatrical modalities and expands the conversation on the agency and authenticity of ‘machine selves.’
Long Description
This project manifests the collaborative vision of 14 artists and researchers under the guidance of Peter Kirn. It premiered on the stage of the Folkwang Music School in Essen, as part of the “Blaues Rauschen” festival’s Open Sound HackLab. Leveraging state-of-the-art AI algorithms, including GANprompts for “machine self” representation, the performance destabilizes the boundaries between the human and the algorithmic. It provokes audiences to rethink the ethical, cultural, and technological implications of AI’s increasingly pervasive role in shaping our actions, perceptions, and values.
Presentation
The performance premiered on June 17, 2023, as a culmination of a four-day intensive HackLab. Each act dynamically integrated ChatGPT-generated dramaturgical instructions, forming an ever-evolving theatrical narrative. The venue transformed into a techno-sensory playground where sound and visuals were manipulated through human movement, and feedback loops with AI offered a cyclical, interactive experience.
Links
Humanizing the Machine Self Online Gallery To Perform Ask ChatGPT Performance Video excerpt <!–
Illustrations
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Format
Intermedial theater performance incorporating sound art, live coding, motion control, and AI-generated dramaturgy.
Instruments
TouchDesigner, Stable Diffusion, Kinect V2, alongside various AI algorithms for real-time data processing and dramaturgical generation.
Ethical Inquiries
The project prompts a reconsideration of AI’s role in shaping human ethics and perceptions. It questions whether AI, often built on biased datasets and opaque algorithms, can truly augment or reshape artistic and humanistic values without losing the nuances that define human agency and creativity.
Authors
- Michelle Adolfs
- Dr. Veronika Batzdorfer
- Louisa Kistemaker
- Maria Matinyan
- Slava Romanov
- Dmytro Filatov
- Urte Daugirdate
- Justyna Niznik
- Xue Fiona Ju
- Ting Chun Liu
- David Jongsung Myung
- Hyungjoong Kim
- Tomo Sone
- Ada Nnoir
- Directed by Peter Kirn