What is an author? Co-creating with Generative AI

The Department of Design hosts a lecture series titled “More-than-human AI”. The event, organized by the PhD Program in Design in collaboration with the Design Intelligences Institute, is an opportunity to explore how designers can navigate and engage with AI to actively promote the resilience and flourishing of our environmental, social, and economic systems.

The third lecture of the series, "What is an author? Co-creating with Generative AI", will be given by Federico Bomba, President of Sineglossa and researcher in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Bolzano.

Abstract

To make Generative AI (GenAI) more reliable and trustworthy, we need to understand how it interacts with people. To help with this, Federico Bomba introduces And We Thought, an art project by Roberto Fassone, winner of the Maxi Bulgari Prize 2023 as the best Italian digital artwork. In this project, produced and curated by Sineglossa, a visual artist and a computer scientist worked together to 'hallucinate' a Large Language Model through fine-tuning, with stories about the experience of eating psychedelic mushrooms. By examining how the artist and the model co-performed in producing the outcome, we discover some unexpected insights about their interactions, challenging the traditional idea of authorship. The speaker suggests the concept of "entangled authorship", which helps us think about creating knowledge in a way that goes beyond just individual contributions. This project challenges the idea of considering GenAI just a tool and shows how we can engage with machines in new and exciting ways.

Bio of Federico Bomba

President of Sineglossa and researcher in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Bolzano. After a degree in analytical philosophy, he directed shows at festivals worldwide until 2014, when he founded Sineglossa, an international cultural research centre. He helps create physical and digital ecosystems in which artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians and artificial intelligences collaborate to produce economic, cultural and social development. Since 2020, he has been the scientific director of the Nonturismo/Ediciclo book series and, since 2024, the editorial director of Mangrovia.

To attend the lecture, you must register by filling out this form.