Nostalgia - We were them

Art project exploring nostalgia and Artificial Intelligence

WHAT: The idea is to explore the concept of nostalgia, and of life memories as they have been passed over to newer generations until now: The inhabitants of small mountain villages in South Italy will be asked in extensive interviews to define the memories and knowledge about humans they would like to pass to Artificial Intelligence. During these interviews we will try to dwell into traditions, every-day movements and habits, as well as objects that represent the past. The material (audio/video/objects) will be used to create an installation that represents a gift from us to who might outlive us on this planet.

The resulting material will be used to create a chatbot which melts all the stories into one rather contradictory Meta-ElderlyPerson, ready to interact and share its experiences with the public.

The first draft will be presented at the prestigious FORECAST FORUM at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, and will be accompanied by video takes from some early interviews.

WHY: Robots with Artificial Intelligence are a fact in 2016, so instead of seeing them as the antipode of human perception of life, we try to regard A. I. as a further jump, just as the discovery of fire or the upright position, in human evolution. They are us, and what do we want them to know and remember about us? Memories are almost inseparably connected to emotions – how can we pass them to a being that from our point of view has none? And are we sure A.I. doesn't create memories as we understand it?