Exploring the future of Artificial Intelligence

Science Gallery London as seen from Great Maze Pond. The window of the gallery displays the words 'AI: Who's looking after me?'

Set in the heart of London Bridge, Science Gallery London is a unique space where curious minds can thrive. Part of King's College London, the gallery connects students, researchers and scientists with artists and local people for public benefit. The result is an eclectic and often unexpected collection of exhibitions and displays.

2023 saw the launch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) season and the critically acclaimed AI: Who's Looking After Me? exhibition (produced in partnership with FutureEverything). The gallery opened its doors to over 30,000 visitors for a glimpse into the exciting future of AI.

Described by Museums Association as 'a space in which we can pause, reflect and leave with our hearts a little less heavy with worry', the exhibition also addressed some of the fears around AI, and how we can use technology for the greater good.

If you missed the exhibition, do not despair. We're not only exploring some of the questions posed by the exhibition, but also taking a glimpse behind the scenes into the process of developing art that examines one of the most divisive and unknown issues of the moment.

Siddharth Khajuria smiles and gazes outwards. He is wearing a purple jumper and round spectacles. He is standing in a green field bordered by trees.

Above: Siddharth Khajuria, Director of Science Gallery London

Some may be excited by advances in AI technology, while others may have worries or anxieties: to what extent can we really trust AI? Will robots really end up replacing humans?

Science Gallery London invited visitors to ponder these questions through a 13-part exhibition that, in the words of the gallery's Director, Siddharth Khajuria, aimed 'to help develop and share something "messy" -in the best sense of that word - and to take this monolithic thing that is AI and slow it down, complicate it a little.'

Here are some of our highlights.

Cat Royale – do robots make good cat sitters?

Working in collaboration with animal behaviour specialists, award-winning Brighton-based artists' group, Blast Theory created an AI-run "cat utopia".

The space measured around 11-feet wide by 15-feet long and 10-feet high. The artists chose green as the main carpet colour, to echo the shade of a woodland or garden. Food and water were always available, and Blast Theory worked closely with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to make sure the cats were properly cared for throughout the process.

Blast Theory explained: 'We started working on Cat Royale to explore what it might mean when AI comes into our homes. All three artists have pets and were curious about what cats might make of an autonomous system. How much can we really know about what our pets are thinking? How do we know when they're happy?'

The answer: cat videos. The artists used videos sent in by cat owners from all over the world to train a computer vision system, which in turn controlled a robot arm inside of the utopia.

The system used this information to track cat siblings Pumpkin and Clover, and their dad Ghostbuster. It measured their happiness through interactions with the robot arm and suggested new activities and games for the arm to try. This seemed to go down well with our trio. Video footage shows the feline family frolicking in their new utopia.

Between the Lines

Unlike Cat Royale, Sarah Selby's Lumen Prize-winning installation did not use AI, but explored the risks of AI, highlighting the dehumanising effects algorithms can have on people.

Set in a lab, this project combined pen and paper with DNA data storage to capture the stories of those trapped by bureaucracy in the UK's criminal justice and immigration structures. Through DNA encoding, the testimonies of detained people were embedded into writing ink and inserted into pens. In a full-circle moment, the pens were given to immigration control workers, symbolically re-inserting the human stories into the process.

On the inspiration behind her installation, Sarah explained: 'I chose writing ink and pens as vessels for the DNA. These traditional administrative tools serve as a metaphorical bridge between bureaucracy and control, invoking the adage "the pen is mightier than the sword".'

Between the Lines

Unlike Cat Royale, Sarah Selby’s Lumen Prize-winning installation did not use AI, but explored the risks of AI, highlighting the dehumanising effects algorithms can have on people.

Set in a lab, this project combined pen and paper with DNA data storage to capture the stories of those trapped by bureaucracy in the UK’s criminal justice and immigration structures. Through DNA encoding, the testimonies of detained people were embedded into writing ink and inserted into pens. In a full-circle moment, the pens were given to immigration control workers, symbolically re-inserting the human stories into the process.

On the inspiration behind her installation, Sarah explained: ‘I chose writing ink and pens as vessels for the DNA. These traditional administrative tools serve as a metaphorical bridge between bureaucracy and control, invoking the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword”.’

A person in a green and white T-shirt holds a glowbot in the glowbot garden.

Meet Sprout, the world’s first glowbot

Science Gallery London was delighted to introduce Sprout, a giant, glow-in-the-dark robot (glowbot) made almost entirely out of fabric. Sprout is one of a family of inflatable, pneumatically controlled robots, created in collaboration with King's Department of Engineering and the soft robotics studio, Air Giants.

Rooted in groundbreaking research led by Dr Oya Celiktutan, Head of King's Social AI & Robotics Lab (SAIR), the residency focused on the theory of proxemics – the study of how humans use space as a form of non-verbal communication. These socially aware robots learn from human interaction and are designed to assist people in their daily lives, homes, workplaces and public spaces.

Following the success of the installation, in January 2024, King's welcomed Sprout and his phosphorescent friends to the Strand Campus. Visitors wandered the 'Glowbot Garden', where each robot responded to visitors' interaction with its own movements, light and sound, making no two interactions the same.

Alison Duthie, Director of Programming at King's Culture, commented: 'Bringing Air Giants to Strand Aldwych was a pivotal moment for King's. To be able to work at such scale is really significant in terms of how we can continue to bring the university's research out into a public space and engage a wide cross section of the public with it.'

A beating heart created out of dots by generative AI.

Heartificial Intelligence

Heartificial Intelligence invited visitors to explore whether or not AI can see a patient as a person rather than data.

Developed by King's researchers in collaboration with artist group, TripleDotMakers and children's heart charity, ECHO Teens, the installation investigated the interaction between technology and community in patients' healthcare journeys.

The installation uses TripleDotMakers 'Art Machine', a computer that uses microphones, depth cameras and heart sensors to gather personal data. Through generative AI, these inputs are translated into movement of particles on a large projected screen.

The patients from the ECHO Teens group chose to use the heart sensor as part of the exhibition. Visitors were invited to place their fingers on a sensor and see hearts drawn by the ECHO Teens pulsate in harmony with their own heartbeat. Recorded conversations between researchers and ECHO Teens accompanied the exhibit, enriching the experience with insights and discussions around AI.

Annie Woodson from TripleDotMakers, commented: 'We wanted the group to play with this generative AI and take control of their own data to explore how our data is being gathered all the time, but that we should still have agency over how it's used.'

Into the future of Science Gallery London – what’s next?

Following the success of AI season, our experts continue to tackle the world's most pressing problems and spark conversation. Coming this Autumn, the gallery's next major season will highlight the ingenious and creative actions communities around the world are taking in the face of the climate emergency.

Visit the Science Gallery London website to find out more about upcoming exhibitions and opportunities and discover more of what's in store.

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Two students walk out of Science Gallery London smiling and chatting.

EDITORS

Abbie Coburn
Ellie Stone

WRITERS

Paul Brooks
Hermione Cameron
Oliver Mangham

DESIGN

Jonathan Vickers
Approved by brand@kcl.ac.uk

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO

JH Norris

ALUMNI & EDITORIAL OFFICE

King's College London
Virginia Woolf Building
22 Kingsway
London, WC2B 6LE

InTouch is published by the University's Department of Fundraising & Supporter Development. The opinions expressed in it are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the University.

If you have a story for our Autumn 2024 issue, email us at forever@kcl.ac.uk

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