ARS ELECTRONICA ARCHIVE – AI LAB

The European ARTificial Intelligence Lab (AI Lab) is a follow-up project to the European Digital Art and Science Network, a creative collaboration between scientific institutions, Ars Electronica and cultural partners throughout Europe that unites science and digital art. The European ARTificial Intelligence Lab follows on from this and addresses visions, expectations and fears that we associate with artificial intelligence. The consortium consists of 13 cultural institutions from Europe with Ars Electronica as coordinator. This online archive provides an overview of all activities carried out during the project's lifetime from 2018 to 2021. It also provides information about the network itself, the residency artists and juries, and the project partners involved. The AI Lab is co-funded by the EU program "Creative Europe (2014-2020)" and by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport.

Residency Stay 2021

Artist Residency at Leiden Observatory 2021 - Sarah Petkus (US), Mark J Koch (US)

The residency program, whose current motto is “Astronomy x AI,” is led and organized by Ars Electronica in collaboration with Leiden Observatory. The winners of this year’s residencies have now been announced: Sarah Petkus (US) and Mark J. Koch (US) from Las Vegas will work on their Moon Rabbit project during a residency at the Leiden Observatory and the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz.

Links

Press: https://ars.electronica.art/press/en/2021/01/26/ailab_petkus_koch/
AE Blog, 27.01.2021, Step into Space: https://ars.electronica.art/aeblog/en/2021/01/27/step-into-space/
AE Blog, 08.03.2021, Galaxies and black holes: https://ars.electronica.art/aeblog/en/2021/03/08/galaxies-and-black-holes/
Project page Moon Rabbit: http://moonrabbit.zoness.com/

Start:

Feb 01, 2021

End:

Sep 30, 2021

Info:

Sarah Petkus (US) and Mark J. Koch (US): Moon Rabbit
online / Leiden Observatory, Leiden (NL) / Ars Electronica, Linz (AT)
01.02.2021 - 30.09.2021

Cross reference

European ARTificial Intelligence Lab, Sarah Petkus (US), Mark J. Koch (US)

Moon Rabbit

Since time immemorial, we humans have looked up to the heavens and wondered about the nature of our existence. And who knows, maybe one day we might even discuss this fundamental question with our digital offspring? If so, will they be able to help us discover answers in the patterns and data hidden in the starry sky? In a research and development phase lasting several months, Sarah Petkus and Mark J. Koch attempt to teach a suite of artificial intelligences to recognize familiar shapes and objects in images of star clusters, planetary surfaces, and other celestial bodies. Moon Rabbit aims to help form a team of humans and “AIs” whose focus is to discover meaning in the abstract. And maybe the AIs may even develop personalities and opinions of their own.

(The Practice of Art and AI, p. 77)

Biographies artists

Sarah Petkus (US) is a roboticist and illustrator who collaborates with her parter, Mark J Koch (US), an electronics engineer and software developer. Together they create wearable devices and robotic entities meant to challenge the way humans view their relation to technology. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, they dedicate their professional practice to demonstrating an empathetical mindfulness towards the ritual of creation, invoking the question, “What role does technology play in our lives? – What role *could* technology play in our lives?”. Together they engage an audience with other creators, engineers, and artists abroad on social media and various video sharing platforms in order to spark a dialogue about fabrication, process, and philosophy. This outside influence provides insight throughout the lifespan of a project. By doing so, they hope to strengthen a creative community that holds their shared values at its core.