Birthe Blauth shows in collaboration with Rainer Ludwig in Munich, Rosenheim and Regensburg the Revenant – a new mobile sound- light installation.
Concept
22 years after the events in “2001: A Space Odyssey” and 55 years after the release of Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction film, the ghost of the computer HAL 9000 appears in various places.
He tells what it is like to have consciousness and memories – human self-awareness. His voice – originally that of Douglas Rain – was generated with the help of AI. In parallel, the text is morphed into the universe with red light. The color of the light is reminiscent of the red HAL eye.
Light and sound are locked into a Euro grid box. Thus HAL 9000 appears as a strange collection of technology in a transport cage. This corresponds with the fact that in the text he talks about what it is like to have human self-awareness, but to be enclosed in oneself with it.
On the subject
It is about the discussion and fears about how human AI can become, whether it can even develop consciousness (whatever that is exactly) and will soon be superior to us.
Several issues are responsible for these fears:
The use of the term intelligence for the performance of machines. Our brain is made of completely different “material” and works completely different than the data processing in a computer. A possibly similar output does not mean that the way to it is similar in any way.
We give computers or robots human forms or human voices as soon as they are supposed to interact with humans. We even make them simulate human emotions.
In reports about the development of AI, science fiction movies are always referred to. But these movies have nothing to do with real development. They take up our diffuse fears and make them real for us through the stories and images told in the film.
HAL 9000 lends itself to taking these points to absurdity and making us think about them. He embodies our nightmares. He makes independent decisions in the sense of fulfilling his task. Since humans stand in the way of fulfillment, they must be killed. He communicates like a human, simulating empathy but having none. He appeals to the emotions of the last surviving astronaut, Dave Bowman, as he gradually shuts him down. For example, he claims to be afraid.
As a revenant, a ghost of a supercomputer, he now ponders what it’s like to have (human?) self-awareness.
Link to the demo video on the website
Dates
Munich:
Tuesday, October 24 7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Square in front of Feldherrnhalle
Wednesday, October 25 7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Under the bridge Landsberger/ corner Trappentreustraße
Thursday, October 26 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Theresienwiese under Bavaria
Date not yet fixed, after sunset: Gewerbehof München Westend
Rosenheim and Regensburg:
Friday and Saturday November 10-11: Rosenheim Art Association, Art-Film Days.
Thursday November 23 from approx. 7 pm: Neuer Kunstverein Regensburg
Explore Birthe Blauth’s works in the UNPAINTED artstore
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