Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts

BEK has one spot left for an artist, researcher or maker to participate in the “Replicator Workshop: A practical speculation on generative AI for physical production”. The workshop is led by visual artist Magnhild Øen Nordahl and researcher Gabriele de Seta, combining their interests in abstraction and machine learning. It will run for three days (6-8 November 2023) in Bergen and result in a presentation during the symposium The Only Lasting Truth is Change on 18 November 2023. 

The term “generative artificial intelligence” describes a subset of machine learning systems used to synthesize various kinds of content including text, images, videos, sounds, and 3D models. In contrast to discriminative models which classify existing data, generative machine learning models are capable of synthesizing new instances of data according to what they learned from training datasets.

Generative AI has a growing range of applications, which run the gamut from scientific discovery and VFX work to industrial manufacturing and graphic design. Its use across domains results in the development of new creative practices and literacies like prompt engineering and model fine-tuning. The more consumer-oriented side of generative AI is often marketed through appeals to unlimited creativity and the almost magical capability to transform text into images or images into videos.

But what are the limits of generative AI? How does the seemingly endless variation in digital outputs interface with physical production processes? How close is generative AI to the science fictional fabrication afforded by the Star Trek replicator, and what can we speculate about the near future of generative AI for physical production through currently available tools?

In the workshop we will explore available models and tools, such as text and image to 3D-model converters, and develop an experimental pipeline from generative AI to physical production. Through the task of creating one physical object together the workshop participants will use this practical work as a way to discuss through the above mentioned questions and to ask new ones.

The workshop participants will be present in person for the three full days of the workshop in Bergen. No previous skills are required, but an interest in working hands on with the above mentioned tools and topics is a must. 

BEK will cover travel up to NOK 2500, accommodation and a fee of NOK 5000 for participation. To apply, please send an email with your CV and short (up to 100 words) motivation letter to bek@bek.no by 20 October. 

Magnhild Øen Nordahl

Magnhild Øen Nordahl is a visual artist living and working in Bergen, Norway.  Working with sculpture and installations Nordahl examines how abstractions in 3D-modeling, science and technology shapes worldviews, knowledge, working practices and the making of things. Nordahl has co-founded Aldea Center for Contemporary Art, Design and Technology and is doing a PhD in artistic research at the University of Bergen. Current and recent exhibitions include “Ways of Unseeing” at Lunds Konsthall in Sweden and “The Machine is Us” at the Munch Museum in Norway. (Include exhibition history if this is the standard for other bios presented, take out if not).

Gabriele de Seta

Gabriele de Seta is, technically, a sociologist. He holds a PhD from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica in Taipei. Gabriele is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bergen, where he is part of the ERC-funded project “Machine Vision in Everyday Life”. His research work, grounded on ethnographic engagement across multiple sites, focuses on digital media practices, sociotechnical entanglements and vernacular creativity in the Chinese-speaking world. He is also interested in experimental music, internet art, and collaborative intersections between anthropology and art practice.

THE ONLY LASTING TRUTH IS CHANGE 

The workshop is part of The Only Lasting Truth is Change, an expanded symposium investigating current and future configurations of art, technology, nature and power. The symposium takes place in Bergen and online 16-19 November, with satellite events throughout the autumn. See the detailed symposium programme here.

The symposium is organised by BEK with support from Norsk kulturråd, Fritt Ord, Bergen kommune, KORO, Bergesenstiftelsen, and in cooperation with Ekko, Østre, Tenthaus, Bergen Assembly and the County Governor of Vestland. It is part of New Perspectives for Action – a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.