IT’S A REALLY EXCITING SPACE BETWEEN THE ONLINE AND ON SITE .

ON THE SUBJECT OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING. DO YOU THINK AI IS A PROBLEM?

It depends on how we approach it. Just yesterday, I had a phone call with someone who told me at a university they are researching how AI can replace human labour like cleaning. I had to cry and laugh. It’s a horrible thought on many levels I also could not believe someone at a university is actually interested in researching such a perspective on AI, called 'Ctrl.Alt.Img'.

If you look at AI as a collaborator, it’s so much more interesting. I see a lot of opportunities. In fact, at the moment we are working on projects involving Dall-E, the text to image AI, called Ctrl.Alt.Img.. This is partly funded by the European Union.

YOUR EXPLORATION OF STORYTELLING, HAS THAT BEEN PICKED UP COMMERCIALLY?

Definitely. At one point, a couple of years ago, storytelling became a big thing in the technology field.

At affect lab, we tell stories with, or about, technology, and companies started to see the commercial value of this. Of course, theirs is a very different way of storytelling than I’m working with. But, suddenly, I was invited to tech conferences because I was working in the field of tech and storytelling. In the end, it turned out they were more interested in how to sell their products, using a story.

But art has always involved storytelling. I bridge between art and technology, which is not always that familiar to everyone. The art world used to be very strict with its definitions. But what counts as fine art is shifting now.

And these days, I see a lot of artists connecting with developers to work on interactive works or learn about approaches in technology. So it definitely is changing.

NATALIE DIXON + KLASIEN VAN DE ZANDSCHULP (AFFECT LAB) affect lab is an award winning research practice and creative studio. In collaboration with an international artistic network, they use design research, immersive storytelling and experimental field work to inspire a more inclusive future. www.affectlab.org

IS THERE A PROJECT THAT YOU’RE DREAMING OF AT THE MOMENT?

There are so many! But there’s one we already made a start with at affect lab and this is about the Dutch dairy cow. You might wonder what this has to do with tech, but cows started to wear Fitbits before humans!

These wearable devices provide interesting data for the farmer. But what I’m fascinated by is how this changes the relationship between the farmer and the cow. I learned, for example, that in many cases, the tech started to come into place with the idea of saving the farmer time by not needing to interact directly with the animals. Like a milk robot. So, the farmer can leave and do some other work.

But that is not how it works at all, because the cows need care. They have a bond with the farmer who they know, so the farmer is still around, but in a different way.

I’m really dreaming about that project, especially at this moment when there’s a lot of tension going on with climate change and dairy farms.

I’m really looking for projects that will make an impact, make a change.

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COLOPHON

PUBLISHER Design Friends

COORDINATION Anabel Witry

LAYOUT Zoë Mondloch

INTERVIEW Mark Penfold

PRINT Imprimerie Schlimé

PRINT RUN 250 (Limited edition)

ISBN 978-99987-939-6-5

PRICE 5 €

DESIGN FRIENDS

Association sans but lucratif (Luxembourg)

BOARDMEMBERS

Anabel Witry (President)

Guido Kröger (Treasurer)

Heike Fries (Secretary)

Claudia Eustergerling, Reza Kianpour, Dana Popescu, Hyder Razvi (Members)

COUNSELORS

Charline Guille-Burger, Silvano Vidale

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WWW.KLASIEN.NL, WWW.AFFECTLAB.ORG

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This catalogue is published for the lecture of Klasien van de Zandschulp "Dancing, eating and spying in a hybrid reality" at Mudam Luxembourg on 7th of June, 2023 organised by Design Friends