Dataland, the first AI museum, uses visitor emotions to create art | United States | Generative AI

In an architectural complex in downtown Los Angeles designed by Frank Gehry is Dataland, the first AI museum, conceived by Refik Anadol Studio, which will take its attendees on a sensory journey to the Amazon rainforest using technology that seems straight out of a science fiction movie.

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The welcome ritual begins in a room where screens explain the systems that are about to involve the visitor. Upon scanning the entry ticket, a black box opens to reveal two devices: a wearable aroma diffuser and a medical-grade biosensor bracelet that will record the body’s reactions in real time.

“Everything feels futuristic, but it actually uses present-day technology,” says Refik Anadol, who founded the museum with Efsun Erkilic, in an interview with EFE.

Once equipped, the public descends stairs that lead to an immersive fantastic jungle whose images constantly evolve into organic shapes inspired by the Amazon rainforest, while music and sounds complete the experience.

Attendees can interact with this environment and the data collected by the bracelet are interpreted by the museum as emotional indicators to modify the development of the experience in real time.

“People wonder: is he using my emotions? Yes, he is. Am I smelling personalized aroma molecules? Yes, you are smelling the dreams of a machine in real time,” explains the artist.

A self-confessed admirer of ‘Blade Runner’, Anadol has been training his own AI models for a decade. After his experience with the first large language models that, as he explains, did not represent nature well, he decided to create the Large Nature Model, trained with 500 million ethically obtained images, and which is the engine behind everything the visitor sees, smells and feels in Dataland.

The museum’s five galleries add up to 1.5 billion pixels distributed on walls, ceilings and floors that disappear to become the Amazon rainforest over approximately 2,300 square meters.

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But the exhibition goes beyond contemplation. One room invites the public to create their own art in real time on transparent touch screens by painting with what Anadol calls a “thinking brush.”

“I was looking for a laboratory of the imagination,” says the artist. “And I think we invented a form of laboratory that brings that concept to a physical manifestation,” he adds.

Before reaching the final gallery, visitors will be able to taste chocolates made from data on the genetics of cocoa and the Amazon rainforest, and take home a “souvenir” created with the information collected during their tour.

The journey culminates with a unique and unrepeatable work, generated in real time from the emotional data captured by each person’s bracelet.

At a time when artificial intelligence generates both fascination and distrust, Anadol is committed to showing its most human side.

“AI is a powerful tool. We have to be very careful. But with that same tool we can create inspiring things, new forms of art, new perspectives,” he concludes. “Everything depends on the collaboration between humans and machines.”

The museum opened its doors on June 20 with the promise of continuing to push the boundaries of art and AI.