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

James Bridle

James Bridle is a writer, artist and technologist. Their artworks have been commissioned by galleries and institutions and exhibited worldwide and on the internet. Their writing has appeared in magazines and newspapers including Wired, the Atlantic, the New Statesman, the Guardian, and the Financial Times. They are the author of ‘New Dark Age’ (2018) and ‘Ways of Being’ (2022), and they wrote and presented “New Ways of Seeing” for BBC Radio 4 in 2019. Their work can be found at http://jamesbridle.com.

AI Chair

I asked AI to design a chair based on the available dimensions of a pile of scrap wood, and then I built the chair.

ENGA Project

An experimental label exploring Enga—a participatory manga where players take on character roles within the manga itself. In Enga, players’ dialogue appears as speech bubbles, while a text-generating AI responds in real time, all seamlessly integrated with hand-drawn artwork by manga artists. The result is a dynamic, ever-changing story with each playthrough. Initiated by game designer Tomo Kihara, the project partners with a range of manga artists to push the boundaries of generative, interactive storytelling.

ENGA vol.1 The Last Parachute

Story / Game Design : Tomo Kihara — Manga : Arata Nagara

The first installment, The Last Parachute, takes place aboard a plane moments from crashing. Three people are on board: a self-serving captain played by the AI and two passengers. But there are only two parachutes. The captain, having already secured one, holds the power to decide who gets the remaining one. The two players, acting as passengers, must persuade the captain through conversation. Will they work together to survive, or betray each other to escape alone? Depending on what the players say, the story shifts—ranging from all surviving to everyone perishing—producing a different manga each time. As language models increasingly influence decisions that shape our lives, this game invites players to critically explore how such systems might come to weigh the value of life itself.

*All artwork in the game is hand-drawn by manga artists. No image-generation AI is used.

Photo by Aya Kawachi

Domestic Data Streamers

Domestic Data Streamers is a collective from Barcelona comprising journalists, researchers, coders, artists, data scientists, and designers who have been focusing on exploring new data languages and their social implications since 2013.
Their research and work translates into films, installations, digital experiences, performances, or exhibitions in a wide range of contexts such as schools, prisons, cinemas, museums, the streets of many cities, and even the United Nations Headquarters.
Based in Barcelona, they have worked in over 45 countries from all continents and for cultural institutions such as the Tate Modern, the Hong Kong Design Institute or the California Academy of Sciences.

https://www.domesticstreamers.com/

Synthetic Memories

Synthetic Memories is an initiative that recreates and preserves personal memories at risk of being lost. By converting spoken and written descriptions into visual images, it helps individuals—especially those experiencing memory loss due to ageing, displacement, or neurological diseases—reconnect with their past and maintain the continuity of their identity despite the adversities.
The methodology proposes using in-depth interviews to collect memory descriptions, which are turned into visual prompts for Generative Artificial Intelligence (GEN-AI) to digitally reconstruct and preserve personal memories. Participants review and refine these images to ensure they accurately reflect their memories. As as result, the person receives a printed and digital version of the generated image, which becomes what we call a ‘Memory Vector’,
a visual tangible representation of their memories that strengthens the emotional connection individuals have with their past and present.
Synthetic Memories have proven especially relevant to supporting reminiscent therapy for individuals with early-stage dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, fostering intergenerational dialogue between older and younger generations, bridging cultural differences and promoting mutual respect among migrant communities, aiding in mental health recovery and trauma processing, and preserving and celebrating cultural and
architectural heritage.
It can be used in museums, schools, community and cultural centres, hospitals, care homes, and public spaces around the globe to help individuals and communities engage in meaningful dialogue about the past, unlocking the potential to enrich both the present and the future.
Synthetic Memories is an inherently interdisciplinary initiative, integrating fields such as cognitive psychology, digital humanities, AI, arts, culture and design. It combines technological innovation with a deep understanding of human memory and identity.

Techno Graphical Data Archive

Traditional cultures around the world are steadily declining due to natural disasters, war, climate change, and population decline. In particular, in the field of traditional crafts that require human skills, technological innovation has led to higher degrees of automation and efficiency, accelerating the disappearance of traditional techniques. In Japan, artisans of traditional crafts are aging, and there are many cases where traditional skills and knowledge that have been customarily passed down orally are lost without being recorded or passed on to the next generation. This problem of cultural loss is not limited to just Japan, but is occurring all over the world. Many traditional craft artisans are elderly, between 70 and 90 years old, and their “skilled techniques” are being lost. The mission of this project is to promote the preservation and inheritance of local culture by digitizing the skills of traditional craft artisans and archiving them on a data platform accessible from around the world.