Shirin Anlen on AI and Mental Illness
If an AI could achieve the level of complexity required for mental states, could it also develop a mental illness?
Marrow is an interactive theater piece, exploring the possibilities of mental disorders in machine learning models. Grounded in hands-on ongoing research and speculative design, the participants experience the story of four AI models desperately trying to function as a family having dinner, as they play the role of each family member. The project uses glitches found in machine learning models to reflect on the human condition and the social constructs that created those models, offering new paths for social thinking.
Marrow is currently in development and in this talk, artist and creator Shirin Anlen will reflect on the research, the lessons from the creation process, the tools that are being built to support the experience, and discuss her vision for moving forward.
She holds an MFA in cinema and television, was a research fellow at MIT Open Documentary Lab, a co-founder of Raycaster, an experience design studio and the founder-director of Steamer Salon, the first VR and interactive storytelling festival and lab in Israel.
Through our research we explore the creative possibilities of technology–how it changes us and how we can harness it. Our work is not limited by discipline, approach or material. We undertake each inquiry with curiosity and openness, following our instincts in the search for innovative applications and undiscovered capabilities.
SensiLab is located at Monash University Caulfield, Australia.