Santas Little AI Workshop

Clara Ehrenwerth

with Goethe-Institut New Zealand

Property Partner: Readings Complex – 106 Courtenay Place, Wellington

Dates: December 2022

Online discussion: Ethics of Artificial Intelligence & art debated on Reddit sparked by someone wandering past the workshop

With Christmas just around the corner, but you still did't have any presents for your loved ones? Artist Clara Ehrenwerth had the solution to your problem: Let the robots do the work for you!

Participants were invited to type a few words into a computer – and the AI tool Midjourney will create an image , as you imagined or not, that could then be printed & framed as a Xmas gift. They were then asked to discuss about the relationship between control and creativity, art and artificiality, and imagination and intelligence.

AI image creation tools have caused a lot of excitement and discussion in recent months - especially after someone in the US won an art competition with an image created using Midjourney. Will robots soon be the better artists? Or can the machines inspire us in a totally new way? And who is actually controlling whom here?

The workshop is hosted by German writer and game designer Clara Ehrenwerth, who is currently a resident artist at the Goethe-Institut New Zealand. With her Berlin-based company Machina eX, she creates playable theatre pieces that are also walk-in computer games. Clara was supported in this project by Rick Stemm, narrative director at Wellington-based video game developer PikPok and playwright.

Organised by Goethe-Institut New Zealand with support from Wellington City Council and Urban Dream Brokerage.

The images here were created by Midjourney after the prompt "Santa's Little AI Workshop" was entered