AI is Not Magic Exhibition

Is AI an incomprehensible form of magic or a partner we can come to understand?

As the world undergoes dramatic change, technologies like AI are steadily seeping into the many crevices of our daily lives. How should we engage with AI, and how can we begin to understand our respective positions in this evolving relationship?

Technology is Not Magic

The Evolution of AI and the Future of Human Intelligence

At FabCafe, we’ve long explored the evolving relationship between humans and AI through a series of discussions without our creative communities.

One such event held last year, “AI Through the Lens of Anthropology,” welcomed guests including design and art duo Playfool (Daniel Coppen and Saki Maruyama), media artist and game developer Tomo Kihara, and anthropologist Akinori Kubo. Together, they examined the question: “What if AI had developed from a perspective other than human-style thinking?”

Rather than judging AI through the common human-centric lens of whether it is “better or worse than us,” the discussion challenged us to rethink our assumptions about intelligence itself.

Event Report (Japanese only)『AIの進化が問いかける、人間の知性のあり方──遊びや人類学から探索する、新たな創造のカタチ』(Event held in May, 2024)

How might human abilities be expanded through collaboration with AI?
How could our creativity evolve through conversations with AI?

This exhibition explores individual relationships with AI through trials in communication and collaboration. By showcasing the diverse ways people engage in dialogue and co-create with AI, this exhibition reflects on the evolving dynamic between humans and this emerging presence, inviting each of us to consider where we stand.

Participating Artists & Projects (Updated regularly)

Techno Graphical Data Archive

In 2020, the total amount of data generated, acquired, copied, and consumed globally was estimated to have reached 64.2 zettabytes (1 zettabyte = 10²¹ bytes = 1 billion terabytes = 1 trillion gigabytes). The volume of data created around the world is expected to continue growing, reaching over 180 zettabytes by 2025.

While the global volume of data increases at an accelerating pace, there are still forms of knowledge that cannot easily be recorded or passed down as data.

This includes, for example, traditional skills and craftsmanship technologies which have been up until recently transmitted orally. In Japan in particular, the aging of skilled artisans means that many techniques are at risk to disappear before having the opportunity to be digitized and archived.

TECHNO GRAPHICAL DATA ARCHIVE (TGDA) is a joint project by DENSO and FabCafe, aimed at building a platform to digitize, share openly, and preserve these previously undocumented techniques thus enhancing their value and ensuring they can be passed on to future generations.