Meta.Morf 2018 – A Beautiful Accident
PINAR YOLDAS (TR/US) – Trondheim Art museum – Gråmølna, March 8 – May 6, 2018
Artist’s presentation @ Dokkhuset, March 9 – 10 @ 10:00 – 17:00. See full program here.
KITTY AI / DESIGNER BABIES
Designer Babies
(3D prints, 2013 – 2016)
A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected in order to eradicate a particular defect, or to ensure that a particular gene is present. Genetically modified or transgenic plants and animals have entered our lives a long time ago, first as food, and then as cultural controversy.
A diverse array of genetic manipulation techniques, allows scientists to create organisms with desired qualities, to conduct research on a vast range of topics from obesity to cancer, from brain development to longevity. One can claim that transgenic lifeforms are the sine qua non of contemporary scientific practice. Animal research, the use of non-human animals, relies heavily on genetical engineering, which contribute to our understanding of biological systems.
A delicate matter in this respect is the modification of the human genome. Protected by a nexus of international regulations, the modification of the human genes has been a very popular topic in bio-ethics.
The Kitty AI
(2016, Video)
It is the year 2039. An artificial intelligence with the affective capacities of a kitten becomes the first non-human governor. She leads a politician-free zone with a network of Artificial Intelligences. She lives in mobile devices of the citizens and can love up to 3 Million people.
In The Kitty AI an AI has taken over the world. The AI takes on the appearance of an adorable kitten to avoid frightening people, it talks about itself and its work as being the ruler of a megalopolis in the year 2039. It speaks from the future and the insolvability of past crises such as the refugee crisis, and climate change, as well as the inability of humankind to manage gigantic infrastructures. AI’s like Kitty AI, have taken over the positions of politicians and other professional groups in this imagined future. According to the AI’s logic, governmental form is a question of quantity: “Democracy was born in a polis—no surprise that it dies in a megalopolis.”
The work playfully reflects a (Dis)(U)topian future – depending from what point of view one takes – where AI has taken over decision making. It could have been a Silicon Valley CEO’s wet dream – getting rid of our slow politicians by replacing them with AI, which according to some sillicon valley ideologists, is the ultimate solution to secure the future of humanity. Such politics is utopia for some, as well is a horror scenario for others.
Pinar Yoldas, Ph.D. is an infradisciplinary scholar and architect who operates under the framework of ecology, biology and technology . Her curiosity-driven work has been exhibited internationally in group shows including the Istanbul Biennial, Nordic Biennial, ZKM, National Museum of Art Beijing, Transmediale, Sonic Acts and solo shows in Z2S Amsterdam, Polyteknikum Moscow, Schering Stiftung Berlin and Roda Sten Konstall Sweden. She is a 2015 John Simon Guggenheim fellow and a Future Emerging Art and Technology award recipient. She had her first solo exhibition when she was five and holds a bronze medal in Chemistry Olympics. Yoldas is an Asistant Professor of Robotics in Art at UC San Diego.