Curious philomath; Interested in the nature of reality, nature of life, nature of the mind.
Artist and computer scientist working with code, data and AI;
creating Speculative Simulations & Data Dramatizations that probe the intricacies of human-machine entanglements;
examining the cultural, social, and ecological impacts of our contemporary techno-lifestyles;
and the relations between technology & ecology, science & spirituality, modernity & ritual, self & collective intelligence.
PhD in ‘Deep Visual Instruments: Realtime Continuous, Meaningful Human Control over Deep Neural Networks (aka AI) for creative expression’, from Goldsmiths University of London.
Co-founder / co-director @ Superradiance Lab (with Katie Hofstadter)
Assistant Professor of New Media and Computational Art @ University of California San Diego.
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For new projects, talks, news etc. please also visit my research lab ⇒ superradiance.net
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Small selection of interviews
Dance, nature, AI and embodied simulation (and Superradiance), The San Diego Union Tribune [Interview with Lisa Deaderick], 2024
AI and Art, Artnome [Interview with Renée Zachariou], 2018 (but still very relevant!)
Expressive Human-Machine Interaction with AI, Hyundai Art and Technology [VIDEO, 4:13], 2018
AI, art, and the human condition, conversation with Nick Knight at SHOWstudio [VIDEO, 53:23], 2020
Technology, AI, love, ritual, political polarization, art and AI, Clashmusic [Interview], 2019
Sound & light as artistic medium, maths & science, behavioral abstraction, complexity, perception & cognition, Vice [Interview with Beckett Mufson], 2014
Flying robots, aerial kinetic light sculptures, working with brands, ritual and The Divine, Vice [Interview with Kevin Holmes], 2012
Working with emerging technologies as an artist, Leaders in Software and Art (LISA) [Interview], 2011
Bio
Headshots at #headshots
b. Istanbul, TR, 1975
Very Short (~170 words)
Memo Akten is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and computer scientist working with emerging technologies both as creative medium, and as subject of critical inquiry. He creates Speculative Simulations and Data Dramatizations that probe the cultural, social, and ecological impacts of our contemporary techno-lifestyles, and the collisions between science and spirituality, modernity and ritual, self and collective intelligence. For more than a decade, he has worked with AI, Big Data, and our Collective Consciousness as scraped and shaped by the internet, to reflect on the human condition. He holds a PhD in creative explorations into Deep Neural Networks (aka ‘AI’) from Goldsmiths, University of London, and is currently Assistant Professor at UC San Diego. He has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica. His work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Venice Biennale, Tribeca Film Festival, Barbican, Grand Palais, Mori Art Museum; presented at leading academic conferences such as NeurIPS and SIGGRAPH; and featured in major publications including Wired, Art in America, NY Times, and the Guardian.
Short (~250 words)
Memo Akten is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and computer scientist working with emerging technologies both as creative medium, and as subject of critical inquiry. He creates Speculative Simulations and Data Dramatizations that probe the cultural, social, and ecological impacts of our contemporary techno-lifestyles, and the collisions between science and spirituality, modernity and ritual, self and collective intelligence. For more than a decade, he has worked with AI, Big Data, and our Collective Consciousness as scraped and shaped by the internet, to reflect on the human condition. His work is ultimately driven by a profound curiosity into the nature of reality, the nature of life, and the nature of the mind. His highly collaborative practice spans moving images, sound, poetry, dance, light, performances, installations, and online interventions, often employing algorithmic, data-driven, and interactive processes.
He holds a PhD in creative explorations into Deep Neural Networks (aka ‘AI’) from Goldsmiths, University of London and he is widely regarded as one of the pioneers in this field. He is Assistant Professor at UC San Diego and cofounder of Superradiance Lab, investigating consciousness, intelligence, and planetary systems through research-based art that bridges embodied experience with emerging technologies.
He has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica. His work has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Venice Biennale, Tribeca Film Festival, Barbican, Grand Palais, Mori Art Museum; presented at leading academic conferences such as NeurIPS and SIGGRAPH; and featured in major publications including Wired, Art in America, NY Times, and the Guardian.
Extended (~1000 words)
Memo Akten is a multidisciplinary artist, researcher, and computer scientist working with emerging technologies both as creative medium, and as subject of critical inquiry. He creates Speculative Simulations and Data Dramatizations that probe the cultural, social, and ecological impacts of our contemporary techno-lifestyles, and the collisions between science and spirituality, modernity and ritual, self and collective intelligence. For more than a decade, he has worked with AI, Big Data, and our Collective Consciousness as scraped and shaped by the internet, to reflect on the human condition. His work is ultimately driven by a profound curiosity into the nature of reality, the nature of life, and the nature of the mind. His highly collaborative practice spans moving images, sound, poetry, dance, light, performances, installations, and online interventions, often employing algorithmic, data-driven, and interactive processes.
He holds a PhD in creative explorations into Deep Neural Networks (aka ‘AI’) from Goldsmiths, University of London and he is widely regarded as one of the pioneers in this field. He is Assistant Professor at UC San Diego and cofounder of Superradiance Lab, investigating consciousness, intelligence, and planetary systems through research-based art that bridges embodied experience with emerging technologies.
His practice is fluid and dynamic, quickly responding to urgent issues and engaging with emerging technologies in their earliest stages, before they are contextualized by broader media and culture.
In 2013, his artwork Forms won the Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, one of the most prestigious awards in the field. The following year, he received the inaugural commission from the Blenheim Art Foundation, creating the first-ever installation for their historic courtyard. In 2015, he was commissioned by Future Everything and the Royal Northern College of Music to create Simple Harmonic Motion #12 for 16 Percussionists, which went on to win the Jury Selection at the Japan Media Arts Award.
In 2016, he became the first artist-in-residence at Google’s Artists and Machine Intelligence program. Subsequent commissions include STRP Biennale (2017) and Somerset House Studios (2018). In 2020, he was appointed Artist/Scientist-in-Residence at the Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music at the Royal Northern College of Music.
He presented a year-long solo museum exhibition at ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) in Melbourne from 2023–2024. That same year, Superradiance Chapter 1: Embodied Simulation was named an Official Selection for the Tribeca Film Festival’s Immersive category, and Superradiance Chapter 2: Embodying Earth was commissioned by Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide. In 2024, he was also awarded a Hellman Fellowship.
His work Boundaries, commissioned by the Vanhaerents Collection for the 2024 Venice Biennale, was highlighted by several publications as one of the Biennale’s “must-see” exhibitions. It will also feature in the upcoming feature-length documentary Wider Than the Sky (October 2025). In 2025, he was invited to perform at the opening night of Jacob’s Pillow’s new Doris Duke Theatre. He is currently developing a new commission for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Artport collection.
His work has been exhibited in landmark exhibitions such as: ‘Decode: Digital Design Sensations’ at the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, 2009), ‘Digital Revolutions’ at the Barbican (London, 2014), ‘The Art of Neural Networks’ at the Gray Area Foundation (San Francisco, 2016), ‘Artistes & Robots’ at the Grand Palais (Paris, 2018), ‘AI: More than Human’ at the Barbican (London, 2019), ‘Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life’ at the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo, 2019), ‘Immaterial/Re-material: A brief history of computing art’ at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing, 2020), ‘The Question of Intelligence: AI & the Future of Humanity’ at the Kellen Gallery (NY, 2020), ‘Notes from the Ether’ at The ArtScience Museum (Singapore, 2023).
In addition, his work has been shown at leading institutions including The Wellcome Collection (London), Max Ernst Museum (Brühl), Trapholt Museum of Modern Art And Design (Kolding), Ming Contemporary Art Museum (Shanghai), Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Haus der Kunst (Munich), Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), Royal Opera House (London), ZKM Center for Art and Media (Karlsruhe), ACMI (Australian Centre for Moving Image, Melbourne), Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab, OK Center for Contemporary Art (Linz), Itaú Cultural (Sao Paulo), and the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture (Moscow).
He has presented his work and spoken at major art/cultural festivals and events such as Ars Electronica (Linz), Sonar+D (Barcelona), RIXC Art Science Festival (Riga), File (Sao Paolo, Rio), Gray Area (San Francisco), MUTEK (Montreal), STRP (Eindhoven), Athens Digital Art Festival, Future Everything (Manchester), Europalia (Brussels), SXSW Interactive (Austin), Resonate (Belgrade), Kikk (Namur), and IDFA DocLab (Amsterdam).
His work has been featured and cited in numerous books, as well as publications such as Art in America, Vice, NY Times, Wired, Guardian, Dazed, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
His works are in major collections including Whitney Museum of American Art’s Artport collection, Trapholt Museum for Moderne Kunst, Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation, M+ Museum of Contemporary Visual Culture, Vanhaerents Art Collection, Borusan Contemporary.
He has collaborated with public figures such as Lenny Kravitz, U2, Depeche Mode, Max Cooper and Richard Dawkins; and brands such as Google, Apple, Twitter, Deutsche Bank, McLaren, Saatchi, and Sony PlayStation. He has served as mentor and jury on numerous international awards, residencies and conferences such as SIGGRAPH, Ars Electronica, and Google Arts and Culture.
As an academic, he has presented his research at conferences such as NeurIPS and SIGGRAPH, the leading academic conferences on AI and Computer Graphics, respectively. In 2021, his PhD thesis abstract was selected and published by Leonardo – one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed journals focusing on the intersections of art, science and technology – for its ‘special relevance’.
In 2011, Akten co-founded the Arts x Technology studio Marshmallow Laser Feast. In 2014, after a string of hugely successful, influential and large-scale projects, he left MLF to pursue his PhD and focus on personal work, collaborations and research. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London, where he specialized in creative and artistic investigations into Deep Neural Networks (aka ‘AI’), and he is widely regarded as one of the pioneers in this field. In 2020 he joined UC San Diego Visual Arts Faculty. In 2024 he co-founded Superradiance Lab with his partner Katie Peyon Hofstadter to further their investigations into the nature of consciousness, intelligence, and planetary systems through research-based art that bridges embodied experience with emerging technologies.
Awards, Fellowships, Commissions etc.
Awards and Fellowships
2024 Tribeca Immersive Official Selection, Tribeca Film Festival (Embodied Simulation)
2024 Hellman Fellowship, Society of Hellman Fellows
2023 DigitalFUTURES Turkish Award
2015 Jury Selection, Japan Media Arts Award (Simple Harmonic Motion #12 for 16 Percussionists)
2013 Golden Nica, Prix Ars Electronica (Forms)
Commissions and Residencies
2025 Whitney Artport Commission, NY, USA
2025 Gazell.io – Artist-in-Residence
2023 Vanhaerents Art Collection Commission for Venice Biennale 2024 – Boundaries
2023 Getty PST ART: Art & Science Collide Commission, LA, USA – Embodying Earth
2020 RNCM Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music – Scientist-in-Residence
2019 Stochastic Labs, Berkeley, CA, USA – Artist-in-Residence
2018 Somerset House Studios & Chase Foundation Commission, London, UK – Ultrachunk
2017 STRP Biennale Commission, Eindhoven, NL – FIGHT!
2016 Somerset House Studios, London, UK – Artist in Residence
2016 Google Artists & Machine Intelligence, Seattle, USA – Artist-in-Residence
2015 Future Everything, Commission, Manchester, UK – SHM #12 for 16 Percussionists
2014 Blenheim Art Foundation Commission, Oxfordshire, UK – SHM #11 for 80 Robotic Spotlights
2013 STRP Biennale Commission, Eindhoven, Netherlands – Laser Forest
2012 National Media Museum Commission, Bradford, UK – Forms
Collections
2025 Whitney Museum of American Art, Artport collection
2024 Borusan Contemporary – Waves 2.0: Terra
2024 Vanhaerents Art Collection – Boundaries
2024 M+ Museum of Contemporary Visual Culture, Hong Kong – Learning to see (interactive, table)
2023 City of London, Public, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire, England – Body Paint
2019 Guy & Myriam Ullens Foundation – Deep Meditations
2019 Trapholt Museum for Moderne Kunst, Kolding, DK – Body Paint
2018 Hansen House, Jerusalem, Israel – Learning to See
2018 High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, US – Body Paint
2017 Yıldız Holding Collection, Istanbul, TR – Equilibrium
2016 City of London, Public – Body Paint
2014 Blenheim Art Foundation, Oxfordshire, UK – Simple Harmonic Motion #11 for 80 Lights
2013 EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam, NL – Body Paint
2013 City of Paris, Public Collection – Body Paint, Webcam Piano 2.0
Juries and Professional Activities
2023 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Jury
2021 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Session Chair “Forms and Reflections”, US
2021 SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Jury
2019 Prix Ars Electronica jury, Artificial Intelligence & Life Art category
2019 Google Jacquard x Arts & Culture Residency Jury & Mentor
2018 Somerset House with Google Arts & Culture, “N-Dimensions” Residency Jury & Mentor
2017 Prix Ars Electronica jury, Animation category
2012 SIGGraph General Submissions Juror
2011 SIGGraph General Submissions Juror
Exhibitions, screenings & performances
Solo exhibitions
2025 Superradiance, Ctrl Gallery, LA [link]
2024 DAĞITILMIŞ BİLİNÇ, Hope Alkazar, Istanbul, TR [link]
2024 Boundaries, Venice Biennale, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione, Venice [link]
2024 Distributed Consciousness / Deep Meditations, Gallery QI, La Jolla [link]
2023 Distributed Consciousness, ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), Melbourne, Aus [link]
2020 Deep Meditations, QUAD Gallery, Derby, UK [link]
2018 Fundamental Frequencies, Axiom Gallery, Tokyo, JP [link]
Performances
2025 Superradiance, Jacob’s Pillow, Berkshires, MA, USA
2024 Superradiance, Unfold X, Seoul, South Korea
2019 Ultrachunk, Rewire Festival, The Hague, NL [link]
2018 Ultrachunk, Assembly Festival, Somerset House, London, UK [link]
2016 Pattern Recognition, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
2015 Pattern Recognition, Sadler’s Wells at Platform Theatre, London, UK
2015 Simple Harmonic Motion for 16 Percussionists, Future Everything, RNCM, Manchester, UK
2014 The Measures Taken, EXIT Festival, Créteil, FR
2014 The Measures Taken, Royal Opera House, London, UK
2013 Laser Forest, STRP Biennale, Eindhoven, NL
2013 Just for Hits, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Cannes, France
2012 Meet Your Creator, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Cannes, France
2011 Hello, Future, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Cannes, France
2010 Blaze, Peacock Theatre, London, UK
2010 My Secret Heart, Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia
2009 Body Paint, Clicks or Mortar?, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, UK
2009 My Secret Heart, Edinburgh Film Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
2008 My Secret Heart, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
Group shows
2025 CVPR (Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition) AI Art Gallery, Nashville, TN, USA
2025 Dancing the Algorithm, Jacob’s Pillow, Berkshires, MA, USA (Superradiance) [link] [link]
2025 Synthetika, File Festival, Sao Paulo & Rio, Brazil (Boundaries) [link]
2025 Art Dubai with Hilton Contemporary, Dubai, UAE (Superradiance)
2025 WOW Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, CA, USA (Waves, Reincarnation, Waves 2.0: Terra)
2025 Athens Digital Arts Festival, ‘Simulacra’, Athens, Greece (Superradiance) [link]
2025 Radical Science, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Spain (Superradiance) [link]
2024 Artificial Individuality, DAM Gallery, Berlin, Germany (Waves 2.0: Terra) [link]
2024 NOISE Media Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkiye (Layers of Perception)
2024 Creative Machine, Taikang Art Museum, Beijing, China (Learning to See, Superradiance) [link]
2024 Unfold X, Seoul, South Korea (Boundaries) [link]
2024 London Film Festival, UK (Superradiance: Embodying Earth) [link]
2024 Digital Body Festival, London, UK (Superradiance) [link]
2024 Color in Motion, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, CA, USA (Body Paint) [link]
2024 Getty PST ART. Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, CA, USA (Superradiance: Embodying Earth) [link]
2024 Sous la surface : une étude Solaristique, Sporobole, Québec, Canada (Waves 2.0: Terra) [link]
2024 Tribeca Film Festival, New York (Superradiance: Embodied Simulation) [link]
2024 Execute Photography, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (Learning to See) [link]
2023 Festival X, Dubai (Waves 2.0: Terra) [link]
2023 Crypto, Art and Climate, RIXC Art Science Festival, Riga, Latvia [link]
2023 Surreal Futures, Max Ernst Museum, Brühl, Germany [link]
2023 Artificial Intuition, co-curated by ChatGPT in the metaverse [link]
2023 Creative Machine, Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub, Jesus College, Oxford, UK [link]
2023 Wonderspaces, TELUS Spark Science Center, Calgary, Canada (Body Paint) [link]
2023 The Perfect Error, Unit Gallery London, UK [link]
2023 Computational Realism, VerticalCryptoArt x NFT Gallery London, NYC
2023 Co-Created: The Artist in the Age of Intelligent Machines, Burlington City Arts, Vermont, USA [link]
2022 Spiritual Urgency, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, NL (Waves: Serenity) [link]
2022 Not About Money, The Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Shenzhen, China (Distributed Consciousness) [link]
2022 In Plain Sight, The Wellcome Collection, London, UK (Learning to See) [link]
2022 Splintered Realities, RIXC Art Science Festival, Kim? Contemporary Art Center, Riga, Latvia [link]
2022 The Unrestricted Society, Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (Deep Meditations) [link]
2022 I Am Not A Robot – On the Borders of the Singularity, Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest [link]
2022 Electric Dreams, 1st CMA Annual Symposium and Exhibition, Computational Media and Arts, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Distributed Consciousness) [link]
2022 SonarMàtica, Sonar+D, Barcelona, Spain (Distributed Consciousness) [link]
2022 Connect Me, Trapholt Museum of Modern Art and Design, Kolding, Denmark [link]
2022 Proof of People, Fabric, London, UK (Distributed Consciousness) [link]
2022 Wall Street Journal The Future of Everything Festival, Spring Studios, New York, USA | Online [link]
2022 AI: More than Human, Guangdong Science Centre, China (Learning to See)
2022 Kaunas European Capital of Culture, BLON Animation Weekend, Kaunas, Lithuania
2022 Intelligence Artificielle: Nos Reflets dans la Machine, Le Musée de la Main, Lausanne, [link]
2022 Stranger Dreams, Mains d’Oeuvres, Saint-Ouen, Paris, France (Learning to See) [link]
2022 The Beauty of Early Life, ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany [link]
2022 Seeing with No Eyes, Microscope Gallery, NYC, USA (All Watched Over) [link]
2022 Take Your Time, Tongyeong Triennale, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea [link]
2021 Art for the Future Biennale, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Russia [link]
2021 When Machines Dream the Future, Goethe Institute, Online (Learning to See) [link]
2021 IconicMints, Wall Street Journal Live (Deeper Meditations) [link]
2021 CryptoRoots, Sonar+D, Barcelona, Spain (NFTs) [link]
2021 A New Digital Real, Ars Export, TCCF Taiwan Creative Content Fest Expo, Taipei, Taiwan [link]
2021 New Elements, LABORATORIA Art & Science Foundation, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia [link]
2021 HYDRA: New Media Art in the Context of Eco-Anxiety, Sevkabel Port Cultural Center, St. Petersburg, Russia (Deep Meditations) [link]
2021 BLON New Wave Animation Festival, Klaipėda, Lithuania (Awesome Machinery of Nature) [link]
2021 MUTEK Festival, Montreal, Canada (Awesome Machinery of Nature) [link]
2021 Future Music Festival, Online (Awesome Machinery of Nature) [link]
2021 Im/possible Images, Lothringer 13 Halle, München, Germany (Learning to See) [link]
2021 You and AI: Through the Algorithmic Lens, Onassis Stegi, Pedion Areos, Athens, Greece [link]
2020 Thin as Thorns, In These Thoughts in Us: An Exhibition of Creative AI and Generative Art, Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2020 Ars Electronica Returning the Gaze, Online Exhibition
2020 Götzendämmerung, Haus der Kunst, Munich, DE | Online Exhibition [link]
2020 Watermans Art Centre, London, UK | Online Exhibition [link]
2020 Istanbul The Light, Istanbul, TR
2020 A Message to Space, SUPERCOLLIDER (formerly The Nook Gallery), Los Angeles, CA, USA [link]
2020 Immaterial / Re-material: A Brief History of Computing Art, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, CN [link]
2020 The Question of Intelligence: AI and the Future of Humanity, Kellen Gallery, New York, USA [link]
2019 Art Innovation, Kyoto University / Kenninji Temple, Kyoto, JP [link]
2019 More Human Than Human, Barbican, London, UK [link]
2019 Cybernetic Consciousness, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, BR [link]
2019 Sense Me, Trapholt Museum of Modern Art and Design, Kolding, DK [link]
2019 Charged, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, VA, USA [link]
2019 Sonar+D Festival, Barcelona, ES [link]
2019 Automat und Mensch, Kate Vass Gallery, Zurich, CH [link]
2019 Sinnesrausch – Art and Motion, OK Center for Contemporary Art, Linz, AT [link]
2019 Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, JP [link]
2019 Understanding AI, Ars Electronica Center, Linz, AT [link]
2019 AIxMusic, Ars Electronica Center, Linz, AT [link]
2019 Mind the Deep, Shanghai Ming Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai, CN [link]
2019 D3us Ex M4ch1na, Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón, ES [link]
2018 Athens Digital Art Festival, Athens, GR
2018 Artistes & Robots, Grand Palais, Paris, FR [link]
2018 Daemons in the Machine, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow, RU [link]
2018 Creative Machine 2.0, Hatcham Church Gallery, London, UK [link]
2017 STRP Biennale, Eindhoven, NL
2017 Treviso Ricerca Arte, Treviso, IT
2017 Sonar+D Festival, Barcelona, ES
2017 DocLab, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Amsterdam, NL
2017 The Other I, Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, AT [link]
2017 Artists & Robots, Astana Contemporary Art Centre, Astana, KZ
2016 Resound, Simon Center, Long Island, USA
2016 Art of Neural Networks, Gray Area Foundation, San Francisco, USA
2016 Quantum Entanglement 2.0, National Center for Contemporary Arts, Arsenal, Kremlin, RU
2015 Europalia, Brussels, BE
2015 Dallas Aurora Festival, Dallas, Texas, USA
2015 Monochrome, AkSanat, Istanbul, TR
2015 Reflection, Opera Gallery, London, UK
2014 A Taste of London, le Cube Gallery, Paris, FR
2014 90db Festival, Rome, IT
2014 Infoversum, Groningen, NL
2014 Polytechnic Museum, Moscow, RU
2014 Creative Machine, St James’ Church, Goldsmiths University of London, UK
2014 New Realities, Alphaville, Barcelona, ES
2014 Nouées, La Briqueterie, Saint-Brieuc, FR
2014 Blenheim Art Foundation, Blenheim Palace, Oxford, UK
2014 Digital Revolutions, Barbican, London, UK (as Marshmallow Laser Feast)
2014 Quantum Entanglement, Laboratoria Gallery, Moscow, RU
2013 Node13 Festival, Frankfurt, DE
2013 STRP Biennale, Eindhoven, NL
2013 SXSW Interactive, Austin, Texas, USA
2013 The Center for Recent Drawing, London, UK
2013 Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dublin, IE
2013 Cube Gallery, Manchester, UK
2013 Plums Festival, Moscow, RU
2013 Royal Institute of British Architects, Manchester, UK
2013 Glitch Festival, Rua Red, Dublin, IE
2013 6th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival, New York, USA
2013 Popular Science Festival, Kaluga, RU
2013 Prix Selection, Ars Electronica, Linz, AT
2013 Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Lisbon, PT (as Marshmallow Laser Feast)
2012 Of This Event, I Cannot Foresee the End, Forman’s Smokehouse Gallery, London, UK
2012 File Festival, São Paulo + Rio, BR
2012 In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement, National Media Museum, Bradford, UK
2012 Ottawa International Animation Festival, Ottawa, CA
2011 Decode: Digital Design Sensations, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, RU
2011 Digital Shoreditch Festival, London, UK
2011 Bouillant Festival, Vern-sur-Seiche, FR
2011 Curtain Call by Ron Arad, The Roundhouse, London, UK
2011 Decode: Digital Design Sensations, Holon Museum, Tel Aviv, IL
2010 Mapping Festival, Geneva, CH
2010 Phoenix Spark Festival, Leicester, UK
2010 Lovebytes Digital Arts Festival, Sheffield, UK
2010 Future Gallery, London, UK
2010 Vigo Transforma Festival, Vigo, ES
2010 Cube Festival, Le Cube, Paris, FR
2010 YOTA Space Festival, St Petersburg, RU
2009 Clicks or Mortar? Designing a Future for Cultural Venues in the Digital Age, Newcastle, UK
2009 Exhibit Festival, Venice, IT
2009 Tent Digital, London Design Festival, London, UK
2009 Decode: Digital Design Sensations, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
2008 Trash City, Glastonbury Festival, UK
Publications
Invited essays, book chapters and forewords
Memo Akten and Katie Peyton Hofstadter. “Externalizing Imagination.” Invited essay for AI | Alternative Intentions. Right Click Save, Mar 24, 2025.
Memo Akten. “Distributed Consciousness.” Invited essay. ACMI Online, Jun 15, 2023.
Memo Akten. “Toward a New Ecology of Crypto Art: A Hybrid Manifesto.” Invited essay. Flash Art, Feb 26, 2021.
Memo Akten. “Foreword.” In The Machine as Art / The Machine as Artist, edited by Frederic Fol Leymarie, Juliette Bessette, and G. W. Smith. Basel: MDPI Books, 2020.
Memo Akten. “Machines That Learn, What Can They Learn? What Will They Learn?” Invited essay. Digicult Digimag 76 (2017).
Thesis
Memo Akten. Deep Visual Instruments: Realtime Continuous, Meaningful Human Control over Deep Neural Networks for Creative Expression. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London, 2021.
Abstract published in “Highest-Rated Abstracts.” Leonardo, 2021.
Peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings
Ziv Epstein, Aaron Hertzmann, Memo Akten, Hany Farid, Jessica Fjeld, et al. “Art and the Science of Generative AI.” Science 380, no. 6650 (2023): 1110–1111.
Memo Akten, Rebecca Fiebrink, and Mick Grierson. “Learning to See: You Are What You See.” ACM SIGGRAPH 2019 Art Gallery.
Memo Akten, Rebecca Fiebrink, and Mick Grierson. “Deep Meditations: Controlled Navigation of Latent Space.” 2nd Workshop on Machine Learning for Creativity and Design at Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2018).
Daniel Berio, Memo Akten, Frederic Fol Leymarie, Mick Grierson, and Réjean Plamondon. “Calligraphic Stylisation Learning with a Physiologically Plausible Model of Movement and RNNs.” 4th International Conference on Movement Computing (MOCO 2017).
Sebastian Deterding, Jochen Hook, Rebecca Fiebrink, Marco Gillies, Joseph Gow, Memo Akten, Gillian Smith, Antonios Liapis, and Kate Compton. “Mixed-Initiative Creative Interfaces.” In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 628–635.
Memo Akten and Mick Grierson. “Collaborative Creativity with Monte Carlo Tree Search and Convolutional Neural Networks.” Constructive Machine Learning Workshop at Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2016).
Memo Akten and Mick Grierson. “Real-Time Interactive Sequence Generation and Control with Recurrent Neural Network Ensembles.” Demo and poster presentation at Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2016), RNN Symposium.
Preprints
Ziv Epstein, Aaron Hertzmann, Investigators of Human Creativity, Memo Akten, Hany Farid, Jessica Fjeld, et al. “Art and the Science of Generative AI: A Deeper Dive.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.04141, 2023.
Bibliography and Press
Books and Catalogs
Cinematic Algorithms. The Rise of Generative AI in Video Art and Visual Culture. By James Hutson, Andrew Smith. CRC Press, 2025
Darmstädter Beiträge zur Neuen Musik, Band 26 (Contributions of New Music from Darmstadt, Vol. 26). By Michael Rebhahn, Thomas Schaefer, eds. Schott Music, 2024
The Art of Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Keywords. By Alice Barale. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2024. p.19
Data-Driven Innovation in the Creative Industries. By Melissa Terras, Vikki Jones, et al. Routledge, 2024. p.206
Proceedings of the 2024 3rd International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities and Arts (SSHA 2024). pp.339-341
Art and Culture in the Multiverse of Metaverses. Immersion, Presence, and Interactivity in the Digital Age. By James Hutson. Springer Nature, 2024. pp82-83
Choreomata: Performance and Performativity after AI. By Roberto Alonso Trillo, Marek Poliks, eds. CRC Press, 2023
Autographic Design: The Matter of Data in a Self-Inscribing World. By Dietmar Offenhuber. MIT Press, 2023. pp.183-184, 192-194
Surreal Futures. Edited by Madeleine Frey & Patrick Blümel, Max Ernst Museum Brühl des LVR, 2023
Creative Convergence. The AI Renaissance in Art and Design. By James Hutson, Jason Lively, Bryan Robertson, Peter Cotroneo, Martin Lang. Springer Nature, 2023. pp.78-79
The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies and Digital Humanities. By Eduardo Navas, Owen Gallagher, xtine burrough, eds. Routledge, 2023. pp.10, 362-364
World of Art: Digital Art. Fourth Edition. By Christiane Paul. Thames & Hudson, 2023. pp.222-224
Sounding Human. Music and Machines, 1740/2020. By Deirdre Loughridge. University of Chicago Press, 2023. pp.170-171
Future Art Ecosystems 3: Art x Decentralised Tech. Serpentine Arts Technologies. Serpentine Gallery, 2022. pp.24, 34
The Rise of Metacreativity AI Aesthetics After Remix. By Eduardo Navas. Routledge, 2022. pp.46, 142-143, 158-160, 162
The Contested Territory of Architectural Theory. By Elie G. Haddad, ed. 2022
Arte e Inteligencia Artificial, ETOPIA Center for Art & Technology & LABoral Centro de Arte y Creacion Industrial, 2022
Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Introduction to AI for Architects. By Neil Leach. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022. pp.112, 129-131
Machine Learning and the City: Applications in Architecture and Urban Design. By Silvio Carta, ed. Wiley, 2022. pp.46, 142-143
Machine Hallucinations: Architecture and Artificial Intelligence. By Matias del Campo, Neil Leach. Wiley, 2022, pp.65-68
Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media for Equity and Justice. BY Katerina Cizek, William Uricchio et al. MIT Press, 2022. p 318
Chefs-d’œuvre du XXIe siècle. L’art à l’ère digitale. Dominique Moulon. Nouvelles éditions Scala. 2021
Art in the Age of Machine Learning. By Sofian Audry. MIT Press, 2021. pp.4, 56-59, 150-160, 176
Futuri Possibili – Scenari d’arte e intelligenza artificiale (Possible Futures – Art and Artificial Intelligence Scenarios). By Rebecca Pedrazzi. Jaca Book Publishing, 2021. pp.205, 265-269
Code as Creative Medium. A Handbook for Computational Art and Design. By Golan Levin, Tega Brain. MIT Press, 2021. pp.38, 141, 270
The artist in the machine: the world of AI-powered creativity. Arthur I. Miller. MIT Press, 2020. pp.74-76
Contemporary Artificial Art and the Law. Searching for an Author. Gianmaria Ajani. Brill, 2020. pp.13,21
Immaterial/Re-material: A Brief History of Computing Art. Edited by Jérôme Neutres, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, 2020
Expanded Animation: The Anthology: Mapping an Unlimited Landscape. By Juergen Hagler, Michael Lankes, Alexander Wilhelm, eds. Hatje Cantz, 2019. pp.16, 21, 58, 60-61, 76-79, 166-167
Artistes et robots. By Jérôme Neutres, Laurence Bertrand Dorléac, Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais, 2018
Computational Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design, 7th International Conference, EvoMUSART 2018, Parma, Italy, Apr 4-6, 2018, Proceedings, p.258
Modern Data Science with R. By Benjamin S. Baumer, Daniel T. Kaplan, Nicholas J. Horton. CRC Press, 2017. pp.29-30
Technologies of Vision: The War Between Data and Images. By Steve F Anderson. MIT Press, 2017. pp.175-176
New Challenges for Data Design. By David Bihanic, ed. Springer, 2014. pp.297-298,
Mastering openFrameworks: Creative Coding Demystified. By Denis Perevalov. Packt Publishing, 2013
Programming Interactivity. O’Reilly Media Inc. 2nd ed. By Joshua Noble. O’Reilly Media, Inc. 2012. p.65
See yourself sensing: redefining human perception. By Madeline Schwartzman. Black Dog, 2011
Podcasts, audio and video interviews
Wider Than the Sky, Feature Film / Documentary, Oct 2025
14: Art, Music, Research, AI, & Creative industries, Edge of AI Podcast, Audio, Video, Oct 2023
Creator Session with Memo Akten, The Interactive & Immersive HQ, Video, May 2023
S2E3: Memo Akten & Tom White – Exploring the Algorithmic Gaze, Unit-on-Chain, Audio, Apr 2023
Conversation: Discussing AI with visual artist Memo Akten, SHOW Studio, Conversation with Nick Knight, Video, Jun 2019
Memo Akten Explores Human-Machine Interaction with AI, Hyundai / Bloomberg Art and Technology series, Video, May 2018
BBC Click (@15:50), BBC News, Video, Apr 2016
Features and interviews
13ThingsLA: Mar 26, 13ThingsLA, Feature, Mar 2025
Artists create connections between the way humans dance and nature moves in ‘Superradiance’, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Interview, Feb 2025
Best of Venice Exhibitions: Pierre Huyghe, Memo Akten, Zeng Fanzhi, and More, White Wall, Apr 2024
Venice Biennale 2024: Our Insider Guide, SPHERE Magazine, Apr 2024
Art Exhibit Explores Distributed Consciousness at the UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute, UC San Diego Today, Feature, Jan 2024
6 Artists Who Were Using Artificial Intelligence Before ChatGPT, Artsy, Feature, Jun 2023
AI Artist Spotlight: Memo Akten, NightCafe, Feature, Dec 2022
Issuing Eidolons, Echo Gone Wrong, Sep 2022
The Networked Condition: Memo Akten Case Study, Abandon Normal Devices, Interview, Feature, Apr 2022
CLIP Art and The New Aesthetics of AI, Right Click Save, Feature, Feb 2022
De l’intelligence en art, Art Press #492, Feature, Oct 2021
Like an A.I. acid trip, this neural net rebuilds reality with flowers and fire, Digital Trends, Feature, Aug 2021
Memo Akten: the environmentally conscious digital artist, Art Rights, Feature, May 2021
Profile: Memo Akten, AIArtists.org, Feature, Sep 2020
Memo Akten’s art sees artificial intelligence tackle life, love, and faith, Dazed & Confused, Interview, Feb 2020
Artificial Intelligence art critics, Wired, Jan 2020
Bots vs. AI: Two Kinds of Software Art Take Different Approaches to the Digital Commons, Art in America, Jan 2020
Memo Akten: Spiritual Technology, Metal Magazine, Interview, Nov 2019
Beyond The Data: Memo Akten Interviewed, Clash Magazine, Interview, Aug 2019
Memo Akten’s Deep Meditations, Wired, Feature, Jul 2019
Memo Akten contemplating AI-generated art, Wired, Feature, Jul 2019
Plurality Of Digital Practices, Art in the Digital Age, Jan 2019
Machine Learning Art: An Interview With Memo Akten, Artnome, Interview, Dec 2018
Что происходит, когда ИИ знает только о цветах, волнах и огне, Shazoo, Feature, Mar 2018
Watch neural networks see only what they’ve been trained to see, Boingboing, Feature, Mar 2018
Gloomy Sunday, Prosthetic Knowledge, Feature, Mar 2018
How to trick artificial intelligence?, Tech Insider, Feature, Mar 2018
Снятся ли нейросетям электроовцы? Машина разглядела цветы в проводах, Tech Onliner, Feature, Mar 2018
Learning To See – Making deep neural network predictions on live camera input, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, Mar 2018
DocLab exhibition asks Are robots imitating us or are we imitating robots?, We Make Money Not Art, Feature, Nov 2017
Make Your Eyeballs Fight Each Other With This VR Experience, Vice, Feature, Jun 2017
Memo Akten at Resonate 2016, Wired, May 2016
Can Google’s Deep Dream become an art machine?, The Guardian, Mar 2016
Google’s psychedelic ‘paint brush’ raises the oldest question in art, Washington Post, Mar 2016
Google’s Computers Paint Like Van Gogh, and the Art Sells for Thousands, Wall Street Journal, Feb 2016
Google’s Artificial Brain Is Pumping Out Trippy—And Pricey—Art, Wired, Feb 2016
Tech me out on the floor… Xbox device mimics dancers’ moves for new show, The Standard, Feature, Feb 2016
Captivating Simulations Explore the Beauty and Raw Power of Waves, Vice, Feature, Feb 2016
Memo Akten: Waves excerpt, Wired, Oct 2015
Here’s What Google’s Trippy Deep Dream AI Does To A Video Selfie, Fast Company, Feature, Jul 2015
A Mind-Bending Inceptionist Video Rendered by an Artificial Neural Network, Laughing Squid, Feature, Jul 2015
This may be the weirdest video you have ever seen, Red Shark News, Feature, Jul 2015
Showtime: Memo Akten, Journey through the layers of the mind, Wired, Jul 2015
Journey through the layers of the mind, Motionographer, Feature, Jul 2015
FutureEverything festival: digital thrills and space to think, a-n The Artists Information Company, Feb 2015
In Moscow, Quantum Physics Meets the Visual Arts, Vice, Dec 2014
80 Spotlights Bathe a UK Palace in Light and Sound, Vice, Feature, Interview, Nov 2014
Simple Harmonic Motion #11 at Blenheim Palace, Kein Magazine, Feature, Oct 2014
Lighting Up Blenheim Palace, Nowness, Feature, Oct 2014
The Unseen Harmonies of Memo Akten, Rooms Magazine, Feature, Sep 2014
Surf’s up: dive into our digital wave machine, The Guardian, Feature, Jul 2014
Kinect creates partner out of light for digital dance-off, Wired, Feature, May 2014
The Measures Taken, Alexander Whitley Company, Linbury Theatre, review: ‘inventive’, The Telegraph, May 2014 V
Alexander Whitley, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House, London – review, Financial Times, May 2014
Blurred lines: choreographer Alexander Whitley on new show The Measures Taken, The Standard, May 2014
Alexander Whitley double bill review – ‘brilliantly unstable choreography’, The Guardian, May 2014
‘Blaze’, Peacock Theatre, London, Financial Times, Feature, Feb 2014
Blaze, Peacock Theatre, The Telegraph, Feature, Feb 2014
U2 Enlists over 1,000 Fans For Interactive Light Performance In An Airplane Hangar, Vice, Feature, Interview, Feb 2014
U2 Launches (RED) Track Invisible at Super Bowl, lbb Online, Feb 2014
Go Behind The Scenes Of The Richard Dawkins Internet Meme Show, Vice, Feature, Jun 2013
Richard Dawkins’ Trippy Explanation of Memes, Slate, Jun 2013
Richard Dawkins attempts memedom via Saatchi & Saatchi, The Independent, Jun 2013
Watch Richard Dawkins’ mutation in the mind, Metro, Feature, Jun 2013
What the Hell Happens Five Minutes Into This Richard Dawkins Speech?, Gawker, Feature, Jun 2013
Richard Dawkins and the meaningless meme, The Guardian, Jun 2013
Richard Dawkins Starred In A Really Freaky Video About Internet Memes, Business Insider, Feature, Jun 2013
Must-Watch: Richard Dawkins’ Insane Psychedelic Rap About Memes, Buzzfeed, Feature, Jun 2013
Richard Dawkins Jumps The Shark With Trippy ‘Mutation Of The Mind’ Show At Cannes Festival, Huffington Post, Feature, Jun 2013
Richard Dawkins on the internet’s hijacking of the word ‘meme’, Wired, Jun 2013
Quayola & Memo Akten: Forms. Something about Life, at Ars Electronica Prix 2013, Digicult, Feature, Interview, May 2013
Laser Forest Installation: Marshmallow Laser Feast Creates Astounding Interactive Musical Instrument, Huffington Post, Feature, Apr 2013
Marshmallow Laser Feast, London-Based Studio That Makes Incredible Light Installations, Laughing Squid, Feature, Apr 2013
An interactive forest of musical lasers by Marshmallow Laser Feast, This is Colossal, Feature, Apr 2013
‘Forest’ – Musical forest by Marshmallow Laser Feast for STRP Biennale, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, Apr 2013
Marshmallow Laser Feast’s Laser Forest, Vice, Feature, Apr 2013
Meet Marshmallow Laser Feast And Their Interactive Musical Laser Forest, Vice, Feature, Apr 2013
Laser Forests, Light Painting, And Quadcopters: Meet Marshmallow Laser Feast, Vice, Feature, Apr 2013
Interactive ‘Infinity Mirror’ Provides Backdrop to DJ Competition, Wired, Oct 2012
Your Eyes And Mind Will Be Blown By This Light Painting Animation For McLaren’s New Super Car, Vice, Feature, Sep 2012
Projection Mapping Transforms A Studio Into A Train, A Park, A Boat, The Deep Sea, And Outer Space, Vice, Feature, Sep 2012
A Ballet of Quadrotors: Helicopter Spectacular from Saatchi & Saatchi, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Jul 2012
Watch This: Flying Quadrotor Light Show Spectacular [Artist Q&A], Vice, Feature, Interview, Jul 2012
Quadrotors at the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase 2012 by MLF – Details, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, Jun 2012
Manchester’s MediaCityUK Launches ScreenLab, A Digital Media Artist Residency, Vice, Jun 2012 V
[#DIGART] Are Brands The New Medicis?, Vice, Interview, May 2012
East London 2012: MSA Visuals – Memo Akten, Dazed & Confused, Feature, Interview, May 2012
Memo Akten Creates Complex Patterns From Harmonic Motion, Vice, Feature, Mar 2012
Harmonic Motion Creates Musical Patterns, in New Abstract work by Memo Akten, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Mar 2012
Quayola and Memo Akten for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Motionographer, Feature, Mar 2012
Quayola & Memo Akten Create Interactive Animated Installation for Cultural Olympiad, Digital Arts Online, Feature, Mar 2012
Quayola And Memo Akten Translate Athletic Movements Into Abstract Animations, Vice, Feature, Mar 2012
Next Steps in Interactive: Marshmallow Laser Feast and Design I/O, Motionographer, Feature, Jan 2012
User Preferences: Tech Q&A With Memo Akten, Vice, Feature, Interview, Dec 2011
Total Immersion: Projection Mapping + Tracking for PS3 Shots, Like Pure Magic, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Dec 2011
Showtime: Memo Akten, Simple Harmonic Motion study 5d, Wired, Oct 2011
Simple Harmonic Motion, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, Aug 2011
The Wombats: From Boys to Men, Vice, Feature, Jul 2011
The Wombats – Techno Fan, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, Jul 2011
Interview with Memo Akten, Leaders in Software and Art, Feature, Interview, May 2011
Sharing Interviews – Mehmet S. Akten, Interview, May 2011
Motion controlled gold dust particle/interaction by Memo Akten, Motionographer, Aug 2009
Body Paint, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, Jul 2009
My Secret Heart – Review, Eye for Film, Feature, Jun 2009
Reincarnation, CreativeApplications.net, Feature, May 2009
ofxMSAPhysics: Open Source C++ 3D Physics Library for OpenFrameWorks, Java Choices?, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Mar 2009
My Secret Heart: Mira Calix’s Music, Wrapped in a Tank of Digital Tendrils by Flat-e, Memo Akten, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Mar 2009
My Secret Heart – Review, The Guardian, Feature, Dec 2008
Secret of My Heart: opera’s leap of faith in the homeless, The Telegraph, Feature, Nov 2008
MSA QT: More than HD Fullscreen Video, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Nov 2008
Quartz Composer and GLSL in VDMX: Memo’s Amoeba Dance, CreateDigitalMotion, Feature, Apr 2008
News and Mentions
This week in the arts: Black Pacific history, WOW Festival and San Diego book crawl, KBPS, Apr 2025
Christiane Paul on Defining AI Art, Le Random, Apr 2025
Sora (text-to-video model), Wikipedia, Dec 2024
ChatGPT maker OpenAI suspends all users’ access to Sora generator; after code leak by ‘Sora PR Puppets’, Times of India, Nov 2024
Artists Leak OpenAI Sora Model in Protest at Unpaid Labor, Tech.co, Nov 2024
OpenAI Sora leak exposes tensions with artists: Here’s what happened, India TV News, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora Leaked Online Over ‘Unpaid Labor,’ Artists Say, Newsweek, Nov 2024
OpenAI Sora Leaked Online From Protest Group Fighting Against Alleged ‘Art Washing’, Tech Times, Nov 2024
Konstnärer uppges ha läckt Open AI:s nya modell, SvD Näringsliv, Nov 2024
Artists volunteering as beta testers for OpenAI leak video tool Sora to protest ‘exploitative practices’, Firstpost, Nov 2024
OpenAI and artists are at war over over the ChatGPT maker’s Sora video tool, Quartz, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora temporarily shut down after protests from artists, A.V. Club, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora reportedly leaked by protesting artists, Silicon Republic, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator is Leaked Online by Angry Artists, Petapixel, Nov 2024
OpenAI Shuts Down Sora Access After Artists Released Video-Generation Tool in Protest: ‘We Are Not Your PR Puppets’, Variety, Nov 2024
OpenAI suspends access to Sora video generation tool after artists protest, Engadget, Nov 2024
Testers Leak OpenAI’s New AI Video Generator, Claiming They Were Used as ‘Unpaid Labor’, Entrepreneur, Nov 2024
OpenAI is at war with its own Sora video testers following brief public leak, Ars Technica, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora Video Tool Leaked by Artists Recruited as Beta Testers in Protest of ‘Corporate AI Overlords’, The Wrap, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Super-Powerful Sora AI Video Generator Appears to Have Leaked, Futurism, Nov 2024
Protesting Artists Group Leaks Early Access To OpenAI’s Sora Model, Deadline, Nov 2024
OpenAI Sora leak: What it was and what it wasn’t., Mashable, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s powerful video tool leaked by frustrated artists, The Independent, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora Tool Leaked by Group of Aggrieved Early Testers, Y Combinator Hacker News, Nov 2024
Artists Leak OpenAI’s Sora Tool Amid Unpaid Labor Claims, Binance, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora was leaked in protest over allegations of ‘art washing’, Yahoo, Nov 2024
Protesters leak OpenAI’s Sora tool, slam artist exploitation, Economic Times, Nov 2024
OpenAI hits pause on video model Sora after artists leak access in protest, Washington Post, Nov 2024
Artists leak OpenAI’s Sora video model to protest unpaid work, The Decoder, Nov 2024
Artists With Early Access to A.I. Tool Release Blistering Open Letter, Decrying ‘Art Washing’, Artnet, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora Tool Leaked By Group Of Aggrieved Early Testers, Forbes, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora was leaked in protest over allegations of ‘art washing’, Digital Trends, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora video generator appears to have leaked, TechCrunch, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s AI-powered video maker Sora appears to have leaked, BGR, Nov 2024
Artists Leak OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator, PC Mag, Nov 2024
Artists Stick It to ‘AI Overlords’ and Leak OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator, Gizmodo, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s text-to-video AI tool Sora leaked in protest by artists, Financial Times, Nov 2024
OpenAI’s Sora video tool was leaked by a group of artists to protest ‘corporate AI overlords’, Fortune, Nov 2024
Artists say they leaked OpenAI’s Sora video model in protest, The Verge, Nov 2024
Hannah Diamond Has Cracked the Code of Using AI for Music, Wired, Oct 2023
Exploring ArtScience Museum’s ‘Notes From the Ether: From NFTs to AI’, Stir world, Sep 2023
If art is how we express our humanity, where does AI fit in?, MIT News, Jun 2023
Generative AI is a minefield for copyright law, The Conversation, Jun 2023
Trump Calls to Terminate the Constitution & AI Chatbot Goes Viral (@ 8:14), The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Video, Mar 2023
TikTok’s trendy beauty filter ushers in new tech and new problems, Washington Post, Mar 2023
Why won’t TikTok confirm the Bold Glamour filter is AI?, Verge, Mar 2023
TikTok’s revealing ‘bold glamor’ filter, The Spectator, Mar 2023
‘Psychological warfare’: TikTokers are right to be horrified by the new Bold Glamour filter, Fortune, Mar 2023
TikTok’s New Beauty Filter Might Be Too Realistic, Daily Dot, Mar 2023
Why TikTok users are appalled by new Bold Glamour filter, Yahoo!Life, Mar 2023
New ‘bold glamour’ TikTok filter blasted as ‘psychological warfare and pure evil’, Fox News, Feb 2023
RIXC Art Science exhibition: Splintered Realities, We Make Money Not Art, Sep 2022
There Is a Greener Way to Mine Crypto, Slate, Mar 2022
What Is the Environmental Impact of NFTs?, Vice, Mar 2022
Can You Be an NFT Artist and an Environmentalist?, Wired, Feb 2022
Green NFTs: Supporting carbon neutrality & giant pandas with NFTs, The Tech Panda, Oct 2021
Doja Cat Launches NFT Collection As Tezos’ Price Skyrockets in 24 Hours–Greener Alternative to Ethereum?, Tech Times, Sep 2021
Doja Cat Gets Into the NFT Game, Rolling Stone, Sep 2021
How Artists Are Seizing the NFT Moment to Transform the Debate About Tech and the Environment, Artnet, Aug 2021
How bad are NFTs for the environment?, The Independent, Apr 2021
NFTs Are Shaking Up the Art World. They May Be Warming the Planet, Too, NY Times, Apr 2021
The crypto art community is having a sustainability reckoning, NBC News, Mar 2021
How Beeple Crashed the Art World, The New Yorker, Mar 2021
The climate controversy swirling around NFTs, Verge, Mar 2021
Cats, Frogs and Cryptoartists: What if Auteur .jpgs Become a Luxury Good, Network Cultures, Mar 2021
True or false? A single NFT can power a European household for 1.5 months, Coin Telegraph, Mar 2021
Neither Beeple’s $69 million JPG nor the NFT art craze should be taken seriously, The Telegraph, Mar 2021
As NFT Sells for $69M, Artists Question Environmental Impact of Blockchain, Hyperallergic, Mar 2021
People Are Outraged About NFT Energy Consumption, The Defiant, Mar 2021
Chain Reaction, Art Forum, Mar 2021
NFTs Are Hot. So Is Their Effect on the Earth’s Climate, Wired, Mar 2021
An Exhibition of Creative AI and Generative Art: ‘Thin as Thorns In These Thoughts in Us’, Art Now LA, Feb 2021
Mind the Deep: Artificial Intelligence and Artistic Creation in Shanghai, Wired, Oct 2019
Art and Machine Learning resources, Wired, Mar 2019
Machine Listening, Technosphere Magazine, Dec 2018
Virtualities and Realities, RIXC Festival, in Riga, Wired, Sep 2017
Accelerating Human Imagination Workshop, Wired, Nov 2016
Google’s Psychedelic AI Art Takes Twitter by Storm, Vice, Jul 2015
Virtual Human Towers and Seismic Data Art Shake Up Barcelona, Vice, Dec 2014
Touch The Cosmos With Aether’s Interactive Gallactic Makeover, Vice, Jan 2014
NEST’s Interpretation Of Homer’s The Odyssey Almost As Epic As The Poem Itself, Vice, Nov 2013
Motion Bank Creates An Archive Of Dancer’s Movements, Vice, Aug 2013
Winners of the Ars Electronica prize 2013, Wired, May 2013
Architecture Fiction: Futuro Perfeito at Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Wired, Apr 2013
Gaming Moves Beyond The TV Screen With Microsoft’s IllumiRoom, Vice, Jan 2013
Best Of 2012: Animations That Will Rock Your World, Vice, Dec 2012
AntiVJ’s Joanie Lemercier Discusses Inspiration Vs. Theft Within The Artistic Community, Vice, Sep 2012
Creative Kinect hacking, Creative Bloq, Jul 2012
Guest Column: James Alliban On Augmenting The Future Of Art, Vice, Jul 2011
Hackers Kinect in a New Way, ABC News, Nov 2010
With Kinect controller, hackers take liberties, NBC News, Nov 2010
Kinect art program, Makezine, Nov 2010
Kinect – OpenSource, CreativeApplications.net, Nov 2010
Microsoft’s Kinect controller hacked, Media+Code, Nov 2010
Sensational now, Eye Magazine, Mar 2010
Art Review: Decode @ V&A, Londonist, Jan 2010
Decode: Digital Design Sensations at the V&A, Dezeen, Dec 2009
London Portrays Past and Future of Digital Art, NY Times, Dec 2009
V&A unveils first digital exhibit, BBC, Dec 2009
Invited talks and panels
2025 UCSD Chancellor’s Associates Colloquium, invited speaker, La Jolla, CA US [link]
2025 USC Expanded Animation Seminar, invited speaker, USC, LA CA US
2025 MIT Critical Matters Group, invited speaker, MIT, Boston MA US
2025 Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture series, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, invited speaker, CA, US
2025 Spectra Synthesis lecture series with USC School of Cinematic Arts, Spectra Studios, invited speaker, LA, CA, US
2024 The Impact of AI on the Humanities lecture series at Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, Claremont McKenna College, Athenaeum, invited speaker, CA, US
2024 Notes from the Ether, ArtScience Museum, invited speaker and panelist, Singapore
2024 UnfoldX Festival, invited speaker and panelist, Seoul, South Korea
2024 Tribeca Film Festival, invited panelist, NY, US
2024 Artist Talk, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione, Venice
2023 ACMI, invited speaker and panelist, Melbourne Australia
2023 Media Arts + Practice, USC School of Cinematic Arts, invited speaker, LA, US
2023 Design @ Large, Design Lab, UCSD, invited speaker and panelist, CA, US
2023 Crypto, Art and Climate symposium at RIXC Art Science Festival, invited keynote speaker, Riga, Latvia [link]
2023 Designing Human-AI Systems for Creativity and Beyond, invited speaker, Design Lab, UCSD, San Diego, USA [link]
2023 AI Generated Art: A Panel Discussion, speaker and panelist, Oceanside Museum of Art [link]
2022 Field of Vision lecture series, lecture, Department of Visualization, Texas A&M University, College of Architecture [link]
2022 Media Arts and Technology Seminar Series, lecture, UC Santa Barbara [link]
2022 Electric Dreams, 1st CMA annual symposium and exhibition, Keynote speaker, Computational Media and Arts, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) [link]
2021 On Art & AI, speaker and panelist, Onassis Stegi, Athens, Greece [link]
2021 AI, Neuroscience and Creativity, speaker and panelist, FIU School of Architecture, College of Communication, Architecture & The Arts
2021 Hybrid Futures Symposium: Re-Imagining Human-Machine Encounters, speaker and panelist, Central Saint Martins, London, UK [link]
2020 Ars Electronica, Returning the Gaze panel: Surveillance, Gaze and Ways of Seeing [link]
2019 Art Machines: International Symposium on Computational Media Art (ISCMA), Hong Kong City University, HK [link]
2019 TodaysArt, Keynote speaker, The Hague, NL [link]
2019 Mouvo Festival, Prague, CZ [link]
2019 TOCA ME Conference, Munich, DE [link]
2019 Art Innovation Symposium, Kyoto University / Kenninji Temple, Kyoto, JP [link]
2019 Cybernetic Consciousness Symposium, Itaú Cultural, Sao Paolo, BR [link]
2019 Symposium of Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence Studies (SIAIS), Yeditepe Univ., Istanbul [link]
2019 Art and Artificial Intelligence / Open Codes, ZKM, Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, DE [link]
2019 Gray Area Festival, San Francisco, CA, US [link]
2019 AI in the Arts and Design, panelist and speaker, ACM Siggraph, Los Angeles, CA, US [link]
2019 SciArc Lecture, Los Angeles, CA, US
2019 Kikk Festival, Namur, BE [link]
2018 i-Docs, Bristol, UK [link]
2018 Workshop on Human-Computer Collaboration in Embodied Interaction, IRCAM, Paris [link]
2018 Frank-Ratchye Studio for Creative Inquiry Lecture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2018 Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) Lecture, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
2018 Smart Cities and Urban Tech Conference, Strelka Institute, Saint Petersburg, RU [link]
2018 Innovative City Forum, panelist and speaker, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo, JP [link]
2017 DocLab, International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), Amsterdam, NL [link]
2017 Conference for the Curious: Senses & Sensors, STRP Biennale, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2017 The Role of Artists in the AI Revolution, panelist and speaker, Sonar+D, Barcelona, ES [link]
2017 The Other I Symposium, Ars Electronica, Linz, AT [link]
2017 Kikk Festival, Namur, BE [video]
2016 Resonate Festival, Belgrade, RS [text]
2015 Disruptive Innovation, Digital Utopias, Hull, UK [video]
2014 Digibury Weekender, University of Kent, UK. Art, Science, Technology and Society
2014 Human Interactive, Goldsmiths University of London, UK
2014 Visuelt Conference, Oslo, NO
2013 Flying Tokyo, Tokyo, JP
2013 Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity (FITC) Conference, Tokyo, JP
2013 TOCA ME Conference, Munich, DE
2013 STRP Biennale, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2013 Bartlett Nexus, School of Architecture, The Bartlett, London, UK
2013 Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity (FITC) Conference, Toronto, CA
2013 Spring Sessions, Gratz, AT
2013 Expanded Animations: Mapping an Unlimited Landscape, Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, AT
2013 New Cinema Lab, Abandon Normal Devices, Liverpool, UK
2013 Semi-Permanent, Wellington, NZ
2013 Resonate Festival, Belgrade, RS [video]
2013 Eyeo Festival, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, US [video]
2013 New Stage of the National Theatre, Prague, CZ
2012 In the Blink of an Eye, National Media Museum, Bradford, UK
2012 Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity (FITC) Conference, Amsterdam, NL
2012 OFFF Festival, Barcelona, ES
2010 Lovebytes Digital Arts Festival, Sheffield, UK
2010 Victoria & Albert Museum, artist lecture, London
2009 Mobile Art && Code, The Studio for Creative Enquiry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, US
2009 University College London Lecture, London, UK
2009 Atelier Hypermedia Lecture, Aix en Provence, FR
2008 New Music New Media, Aldeburgh Music, Snape, UK
PhD Research
I’m delighted to learn that Leonardo, the prestigious peer-reviewed journal focusing on the intersections of art, science and technology, has selected my thesis abstract to be amongst their highest-rated, and to be published in their October 2022 issue (Vol 55, No 5). https://leonardo.info/labs-2021
Thesis can be downloaded from https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/30191/
This work was made primarily between 2014-2019, and published in 2021. Completed in the Department of Computing, Goldsmiths University of London; under the supervision of Dr. Mick Grierson and Dr. Rebecca Fiebrink; funded by the EPSRC.
Title:
Deep Visual Instruments: Realtime Continuous, Meaningful Human Control over Deep Neural Networks for creative expression
Abstract
In this thesis, we investigate Deep Learning models as an artistic medium for new modes of performative, creative expression. We call these Deep Visual Instruments: realtime interactive generative systems that exploit and leverage the capabilities of state-of-the-art Deep Neural Networks (DNN), while allowing Meaningful Human Control, in a Realtime Continuous manner.
We characterise Meaningful Human Control in terms of intent, predictability, and accountability; and Realtime Continuous Control with regards to its capacity for performative interaction with immediate feedback, enhancing goal-less exploration. The capabilities of DNNs that we are looking to exploit and leverage in this manner, are their ability to learn hierarchical representations modelling highly complex, real-world data such as images. Thinking of DNNs as tools that extract useful information from massive amounts of Big Data, we investigate ways in which we can navigate and explore what useful information a DNN has learnt, and how we can meaningfully use such a model in the production of artistic and creative works, in a performative, expressive manner.
We present five studies that approach this from different but complementary angles. These include: a collaborative, generative sketching application using MCTS and discriminative CNNs;
a system to gesturally conduct the realtime generation of text in different styles using an ensemble of LSTM RNNs; a performative tool that allows for the manipulation of hyperparameters in realtime while a Convolutional VAE trains on a live camera feed; a live video feed processing software that allows for digital puppetry and augmented drawing; and a method that allows for long-form story telling within a generative model’s latent space with meaningful control over the narrative.
We frame our research with the realtime, performative expression provided by musical instruments as a metaphor, in which we think of these systems as not used by a user, but played by a performer.
Description
This research investigates how the latest developments in Machine Learning – with an emphasis on Deep Learning – can be used to create intelligent systems that enhance artistic expression. These are systems that people can interact with and gesturally ‘conduct’ to expressively produce and manipulate text, images and sounds – in effect, collaborating with a ‘creative’, ‘talented’ agent. These systems learn – both offline and online – and have a level of autonomy that could be perceived as creative behaviour.
The desired relationship between human and machine (software) here is analogous to that between an Art Director and graphic designer, film director and video editor, concept / story teller and ghost writer – i.e. a visionary communicates their vision to a ‘doer’ who produces the actual output under the direction of the visionary (though often the doer also shapes the output with their own vision and skills). Crucially, the desired human-machine relationship here also draws inspirations from that between a pianist and piano, a conductor and orchestra, an abstract expressionist painter and the system comprising of brush + paint + canvas + gravity + fluid dynamics. I.e. again a visionary (human) communicates their vision to a system which produces the actual output, but this communication is real-time, continuous and expressive; it’s an immediate response to everything that has been produced so far, creating a closed feedback loop.
Within this very broad topic, the key problem area that the research tackles is as follows: Given a very large corpus of example data (e.g. thousands or millions of examples), we can train a generative deep model. That model will hopefully learn something, and contain some kind of ‘knowledge’ about the data (and its underlying structure). The questions are: i) What exactly has the model learned? how can we investigate what knowledge the model contains? ii) how can we do this interactively and in real-time, and expressively explore the knowledge that the model contains iii) how can we use this to steer the model to produce not just anything that resembles the training data, but what *we* want it to produce, *when* we want it to produce it, again in real-time and through expressive, continuous interaction and control.
Education
2014-2021. PhD, Computational Art + Artificial Intelligence, Goldsmiths University of London, Dept of Computing, UK.
- Thesis: “Deep Visual Instruments: Realtime Continuous, Meaningful Human Control over Deep Neural Networks for creative expression“
1993-1997. BSc, Civil Engineering, Bosphorus University, Istanbul, TR.
- Awarded second prize for final thesis “Automation of Reinforced Concrete Frame Structures“
1986-1992. High School Degree, Robert College of Istanbul, Istanbul, TR.
- Awarded (highest) Sait Halman Prize for “Excellence in Computer Science“
Headshots
