Art organisation Performance Space partners up with The Works to create ‘The Unseen Machine’ – then destroys it

The Works, in partnership with Performance Space has revealed ‘The Unseen Machine’ – an experience that poses a question to the Australian art community: ‘What is the future of AI in creative expression?’.

The Works took a bold step towards answering the question by launching ‘The Unseen Machine’ to the NSW arts community via a debate at Carriageworks.

By harnessing the power of AI, ‘The Unseen Machine’ taps into the Performance Space archive of works spanning four decades – producing new, AI enhanced art pieces that posed as the catalyst for robust debate.

With some members of the community embracing it as an exciting evolution, others raised moral questions about its role in creative expression. Encouraging the question: should the machine be kept and celebrated as a tool for innovation, or should it be destroyed as a moral affront to the principles of human creativity?

58% wanted to destroy it.

Says Claire Stapleton, creative director at The Works: “There’s no doubt that the future of AI and art is an important debate and we knew that conversations around how the two collide is a contentious topic. So much so that ‘The Unseen Machine’ is writing its’ own eulogy as we speak.

“But we also know that creativity and ‘risk’ live hand in hand. ‘The Unseen Machine’ is a mechanic that ignites that debate head on. The debate provided us with a treasure-trove of perspectives to take onboard as we approach creative briefs in 2024.”

Feed the machine at https://performancespace.com.au/the-unseen-machine