Artificial intelligence in art

By Emily Spicer on 17/4/2019

The future is now. Artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived and it is learning all the time, telling us what we like and what we need. Hell, computers can even tell jokes, although the delivery needs work.
Naturally, artists are curious about what can be achieved with the help of a robot assistant or an algorithm that adapts to the viewer's every move, and they are using these advances in technology to bring us new experiences. Some are building, testing and teaching software that can create and improve with every mistake – just like a human – while others are utilising virtual reality to trick our brains into thinking we are somewhere else entirely. Like it or not, this is the way things are going.
Should we be sceptical? Should art be the preserve of humans alone? Do you really need to feel emotion in order to produce something emotionally affecting? Why not judge for yourself with our guide to art powered by AI.

Courtesy of Antony Gormley Studio and Acute Art

Lunatick by Antony Gormley, 180 The Strand

In collaboration with Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan, Anthony Gormley has created an immersive 15-minute virtual reality experience. Lunatick at 180 The Strand takes visitors on a journey through our atmosphere and into outer space. This is as close as many of us will ever get to the real thing and to make the experience as realistic as possible, the journey is interactive and has been mapped with data from NASA.

New dates have been added to this very popular experience. Booking now is recommended.

Read more about Anthony Gormley's views on virtual reality.

WHEN

05 Apr 2019 – 25 Apr 2019, TUESDAY – SATURDAY. 12 AM – 7 PM, SUNDAY 12 AM – 6 PM

WHERE

The Store, 180 The Strand, The Store, 180 The Strand, London, WC2R 1EA

We Live in an Ocean of Air, Saatchi Gallery

Until 5 May Saatchi Gallery is hosting We Live in an Ocean of Air by Marshmallow Laser Feast in collaboration with Natan Sinigaglia and Mileece I'Anson, a 20 minute virtual reality experience that highlights our connections to the natural world. You'll need to don a headset and mini backpack in order to be fully plunged into an ancient forest, where the elements necessary for life are beautifully visualised. Breath and heart sensors tailor the visuals, so that the experience is entirely immersive.

WHEN

Until 5 May. Daily 10am –6pm

WHERE

Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, London, SW3 4RY

Far Side of the Moon, 3812 Gallery

Chinese artist and inventor Victor Wong has built and trained an AI machine consisting of a ‘brain’ and robotic arm, which paints landscapes in the Chinese tradition. Computerised apprentice, AI Gemini, has not been fed images of ink paintings, but produces them from its own ‘imagination,’ influenced by what it discovers on the internet, such as weather reports.

AI Gemini’s paintings have become autonomous, so that not even Wong can predict what his collaborator will produce. It has also made art 'inspired' by images of the far side of the moon sent back by NASA and the Chinese probe, Chang'e–4. When Wong gave AI Gemini some gold paint, beautiful things happened.

WHEN

16 April – 11 May. Monday – Friday 10:00 am – 6:30 pm. Saturday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

WHERE

2812, 21 Ryder Street, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6PX

Hype Cycle: Machine Learning, © Universal Everything.

AI: More than Human, Barbican

As part of its Life Rewired season – a programme of events exploring the impact technology has on our lives – the Barbican is putting on a vast exhibition examining the origins and development of artificial intelligence. It promises to be fascinating and thought-provoking, an exhibition with something for everyone, not just tech geeks. Expect to come away with a new take on the technology in your life and what the future holds in store.

WHEN

16 May 2019 – 26 Aug. Saturday – Wednesday 10am – 6pm, Thursday – Friday, 10am – 9pm

WHERE

Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS

Hito Steyerl, How Not to Be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File, 2013 (still), HD video, 15 minutes 52 seconds, colour, sound. Image CC 4.0 Courtesy of the Artist, Andrew Kreps Gallery (New York) and Esther Schipper Gallery (Berlin)

Hito Steyerl exhibition, Serpentine Sackler Gallery

In an era where life coaches are now, quite suspiciously, all called ‘Siri’ and where soon we will surrender autonomy to the engineered judgment of a self-driving car, there’s an increasing pressure on the leaders of contemporary culture to address the question: what is the impact of artificial intelligence on our society?

This is the crux of German artist Hito Steyerl’s electric exhibition at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. By collaborating with a team of machine learning programmers, musicians, video producers, and app designers, she’s created a multisensory show that makes use of every part of the gallery, both inside and out.

WHEN

11 Apr 2019 – 06 May. Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 6pm

WHERE

Serpentine Sackler Gallery, West Carriage Drive, Kensington Gardens, London, W2 2AR