Robot-Human Co-creation Projects
As artist in residence at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Medical Network in Vienna Austria headed by Professor Dr. Jörg Menche. In the Institutes own words "The overarching ambition of the LBI-NetMed is to leverage network theory, machine learning and artificial intelligence to formulate a holistic view of the intricate cross-scale nature of human biology and to translate the gained insights to concrete medical impact ranging from diagnosis to treatment." (https://netmed.lbg.ac.at/, May, 2025).
I have been very fortunate to work amongst and engage with a group of highly creative scientists, engineers. Two collaborative projects for two with the scientist, Christiane Hütter, and the animation engineer, Sebastian Pirch led to a performance project exhibited at the LBI and the Biocenter, also in Vienna.
A second project with Dr. Peter Kan of the Technical University of Vienna, Department of Informatics and the Mixed Reality Laboratory is presently in the making.
The foto below was taken from from a painting performance, creating of a cellular image jointly with a robot printer. Initially, the robot generated a design of my choosing, but modified it indepently. I then joined the process, working alongside and integrating my work into the robot’s design. The robot is depicted in the lower right corner of the painting
Whilst artist in residence at LBI-NetMed, Vienna, Austria.
Performance Nr. 2
Methods and materials: mathematical algorithms - beauty unto itself
SOME MUSINGS ON BIOLOGY AND OUR FUTURE WITH AI
Just as evolution and every form of life are created according to a strict design, the function of a robot can also follow a highly precise design plan. By comparison, the human hand is imprecise and random. But randomness is also a driver of new paths in evolution. Here this concept is applied to the joint creation of an image, painted and printed, human and robotic. In effect a form of Evolution in action.
Role of humans in an AI-driven world
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence this topic has received a special relevance to many professional service activities, including the fine arts. AI-driven tools, be it purely digital or implemented through robots, are enabling the replacement of many functions hitherto performed by humans. This begs the question as to where will this leave human creativity in the future?
Up until now we have claimed authorship and ownership of the programmes that determine robot functions, but what will happen when AI tools attain a level of sophistication that enables them to rewrite and author their own programmes. What does that mean for humans? How will we cooperate with this new entity?
AI Evolution
In order for the above mentioned to see reality, information technology must become more efficient, both in terms of energy consumption and data processing. In comparison, biological systems are far more efficient, on both levels. IT will need to take on biological concepts in order to reach the future described above. The concept of cooperation, too, is a biological concept, which has escaped humans somewhere in their evolutionary development. We, too, will need to adopt a new level of biological understanding of survival through cooperation.
All in all, THE FUTURE OF AI LIES IN BIOLOGY. A thought that now encompanies my work in these and other projects.