2023-10-19 08:35:48
In view of the current, sometimes highly emotional discussions about the sense and nonsense of artificial intelligence (AI), the Vienna Technical Museum (TMW) could not have found a more interesting topic for a new special show. TMW General Director Peter Aufreiter explained this to journalists on Wednesday evening. It is also clear that an exhibition as contemporary as the one entitled “Smart World” always has something “temporary” about it, says Aufreiter.
When the partner museum “DASA – Working World” in Dortmund began to implement the museum preparation of this far-reaching and far from complete chapter of technology development in 2019, what was probably the most popular type of AI – the large language model “ChatGPT” – was still there not on the screen. Many experts already emphasized at the time that something like this could soon be possible. But many people couldn’t really believe it until they could see it, so to speak.
The exhibition “Smart World. How artificial intelligence is changing our world”, which can be seen in Vienna-Penzing from this Thursday until June 30, 2024, was therefore quickly expanded to include a ChatGPT chapter for its appearance in Vienna, explained Aufreiter. Some posters are now clearly visible and simply attached with adhesive tape to illustrate that they could be removed and replaced quite quickly if a new development occurs, according to DASA curators Magdalena Roß, Luisa Kern and Philipp Horst. The show is part of an exchange program between European technology museums, in which the TMW is playing a leading role.
At TMW you can now delve into the world of AI through a structure that resembles a “rabbit hole”. It starts with the “Smart Home”. In addition to devices that use AI or at least pretend to do so for marketing reasons, there are also numerous mirrors in the first part. According to the curators, you should start by asking yourself how transparent you actually want to be. Because: You now leave traces of data almost everywhere.
The following is about the situation that led to AI and its basis – machine learning – being and being developed in the first place. This is about control, convenience, the pursuit of profit, but also about gaining knowledge in science and research or the desire for objectivity without human distortions. You can find out later how AI is created, examples of applications are given and some of them are supported interactively.
Topics such as data quality, racism and sexism are also discussed, which the systems can pick up during their learning approach. The possibilities in medical research, for example, are presented as well as a beer brewing simulator or the humanization of AI in the form of humanoid robots.
The show also deals with the promises of the “Smart City”, which was still omnipresent in Vienna a few years ago and is less advertised today. There is also space for the already hyped autonomous car or tongue-in-cheek artistic explorations of AI. The many questions about “security versus surveillance”, the use of personal data and the power of tech companies should not be missed. The DASA team explained that they want to encourage people to think about how the use of AI can be made positive for people: “Because we are of the opinion that there is no future without AI.”
(S E R V I C E – https://www.technischesmuseum.at/ausstellung/smart_world)
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