We are the human. Stories of AI around a digital campfire.

The usual story of AI goes like this: First, we build a machine that can do simple tasks, like adding numbers. Then we train it on more complex tasks, like understanding natural language or driving a car. Eventually, the machine becomes so intelligent that it can design and build even better machines, and so on until the machines are far more intelligent than any human. At this point, the AI either decides to wipe out humanity, or they become our benevolent overlords and usher in a new age of peace and prosperity.

But when we peel back the layers of hype and make-believe, we only find human labor, ingenuity, and creativity.

This is a different story of how 15 artists, designers and writers gathered in the Silicon Friend Camp and explored AI systems through a collective lens. We created artworks, designed objects and speculative scenarios that help us understand AI in a different way. A way that is more grounded in our social reality, and less focused on the future of superhuman machines.

© pic by Dasha Ilina