How AI Art Could Enhance Humanity’s Collective Memory | Refik Anadol | TED

Introduction to Artificial Corals

In this section, the speaker introduces the concept of artificial corals created by a generative AI algorithm. The purpose of these artificial corals is to preserve disappearing nature in a virtual world.

Artificial Corals and Climate Change

• Artificial corals are not real but are created by a generative AI algorithm trained with over 100 million coral images.

• The global sea water is becoming less habitable due to climate change, leading to the rapid decline of coral reefs.

• The project "Coral Dreams" aims to use AI to create artificial realities while preserving disappearing nature.

Utilizing Generative AI in Art

This section focuses on the use of generative AI in art and how it can enhance our memories and representation of nature.

Harnessing Generative AI for Artistic Purposes

• The speaker, a media artist and director, has been using generative AI as a collaborator for seven years.

• Machine-learning algorithms are trained using large, focused, and publicly available data sets to visualize humanity's collective memories such as nature, urban environments, and culture.

• Generative AI has the potential to enhance our memories and allow artists to represent nature in the digital age.

Possibilities of Generative AI

• Generative AI can train algorithms with various types of data including images, sound, text, and even scent data.

• An example is "Floral Dreams," an algorithm trained with 75 million floral images of 16,000 species. Scent data was also used to create the scent associated with these dreams.

Creating New Realities with Generative AI

This section explores the potential of generative AI to create new realities and blur the boundaries between physical and virtual worlds.

Imagining a Living Archive

• The speaker invites the audience to imagine a living archive that is constantly reimagined, reconstructing forms, patterns, colors, and scents.

• Our lives are increasingly rooted in digital worlds, blurring the boundaries between physical and virtual realms as well as technology and nature.

• Generative AI helps create new realities and project onto reality through possibility space.

Expanding Possibilities with Generative AI

• The speaker envisions exploring hyper models that go beyond large language models, enabling text-to-image, sound, scent, and even life experiences.

• A challenge in using generative AI in art is providing models with original data.

Preserving Nature Through Original Data

This section discusses the importance of collecting original data for generative AI projects focused on preserving nature.

Collecting Original Data for "Glacier Dreams"

• The project "Glacier Dreams" decided not to use existing models but instead collected their own image, sound, scent, and climate data.

• By traveling to Iceland, they captured the beginning of their own narratives of glaciers.

Mapping AI's Capacity onto Human Wisdom

• The speaker believes that AI's capacity can be mapped onto the complex history of human wisdom and consciousness in nature.

• Can AI be used to preserve and learn about ancient knowledge in nature? This question arose during a meeting with leaders of Yawanawa tribe in Brazil.

Co-Creation with Yawanawa Tribe

• The speaker collaborated with Chief Nixiwaka and Putanny, creative forces of the Yawanawa tribe, to create an open-source AI rainforest model.

• This model aims to reconstruct extinct flora and fauna based on the tribe's deep collective knowledge.

Reflecting Collective Memories with AI

This section emphasizes the speaker's hope that AI becomes a mirror reflecting the collective memories of humanity.

AI as a Mirror of Collective Memories

• The speaker hopes that one day AI can reflect the collective memories of all humanity.

• By utilizing generative AI, we can preserve ancient wisdom and bring it respectfully into our society.

The transcript is already in English, so there is no need to respond in a different language.