Future Robots

MA Material Futures X Google DeepMind | Lethaby Gallery, London, March 2022

In 2022, my team at DeepMind sponsored a client project with MA Material Futures at Central Saint Martins. The brief was to design an AI-enabled device, service or machine to benefit humanity. Students were encouraged to be critical of AI, to apply ethical technology frameworks, and to place their work somewhere in the spectrum of applied technologies and speculative futures. DeepMind researchers, engineers and product managers ran workshops and offered technical support and advice on technical feasibility. The final artefacts were exhibited at the Lethaby Gallery in London.

The exhibition text:

‘Over the last couple of decades, we have witnessed seismic changes to the way in which we live, interact and socialise with the environment around us. Whilst we often perceive these changes to be primarily a product of political and social will, it could be argued that the real primary driver of these changes is technology. From Tamagotchis and Gameboys to tablets and smartphones, the last twenty years has led to a seamless integration of technology within every single aspect of our lives. From the way in which we socialise, date and interact with the people around us to the way in which we vote and work, technology has allowed us to connect, trade and learn with people across the globe effortlessly and easily, and this has led to the acceleration of a more global and interconnected culture which would be completely unimaginable to us just a few decades ago.

However, with the advancement of artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning, we are on the cusp of immense technological developments that will once again lead to staggering changes to all of our lives. Whilst such technologies could lead us to better tackle global challenges around the climate emergency, food insecurity, healthcare and education, it will also lead to a whole host of new challenges such as the future of work, automation and the redistribution of wealth, power and resources.

In collaboration with DeepMind, MA Material Futures imagine how technologies could be deployed in order to tackle some of the most complex and pressing issues that we face both today and in the future.’