Scattered items lie on a black desk: a roll of electrical tape, a glass lens, components from a camera, and a notepad containing numbers and the heading 'LLM'. Other miscellaneous items of hardware are out of focus in the background.

The Horizon II was part of the Tipping Point exhibition held in summer 2025 in Edinburgh. Tipping Point explores how artists can help us more wisely respond to the present realities and near-future horizons of AI. Wesley's 'The Horizon' offers glimpse into a possible near-future of post-abundance computation that also shows us how to better use the tools we have today.

This image deconstructs the hardware that can be used in AI applications and its relationship to people and societies. It invites viewers to contemplate potential implications of components like visual or audio recognition, and reflect on the experiences of the people living with them. 

Tipping Point was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and delivered by BRAID in partnership with Inspace at the Institute for Design Informatics, with support from Better Images of AI. Photographed by Chris Scott.

The Horizon II

A close-up photograph of a scattered - but still connected - collection of wires and pieces from hardware components. Most items are blurred and out of focus, but attention is drawn to a black cylindrical component bearing the Amazon logo.

The Horizon I was part of the Tipping Point exhibition held in summer 2025 in Edinburgh. Tipping Point explores how artists can help us more wisely respond to the present realities and near-future horizons of AI. Wesley's 'The Horizon' offers glimpse into a possible near-future of post-abundance computation that also shows us how to better use the tools we have today.

This image deconstructs the hardware that can be used in AI applications and its relationship to people and societies. It invites viewers to contemplate potential implications of components like visual or audio recognition, and reflect on the experiences of the people living with them. 

Tipping Point was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and delivered by BRAID in partnership with Inspace at the Institute for Design Informatics, with support from Better Images of AI. Photographed by Chris Scott.

The Horizon I

Cooling pipes hug data servers, extracting water from a shared reservoir while people collect water from the same source, set against a background of eroded soil textures.

Digital collage depicting servers extracting water from a local community, symbolizing how data center operations contribute to erosion, water scarcity, and drought.

The Environmental Impact of Data Centers in Vulnerable Ecosystems

A computer monitor with a parody of a tech company logo floats on the waves while human hands reach up from the depths.

At whose expense do tech development and tech companies thrive? The hands in the image suggest those whose lives and livelihoods are impacted by AI – including but not limited to ghost workers, students, those suffering from abusive deepfakes and AI-generated scams, residents of areas impacted by datacenters, those on the job market facing displacement by the promise of automation, and those seduced by the ELIZA effect of chatbots to make decisions that negatively impact their health and wellbeing. The water and wave imagery evokes the rising tide of AI hype (the “AI bubble”) as well as the environmental impacts of AI. Original digital illustration plus stock photograph; edited tech logo; and overlay from RawPixel.

A Rising Tide Lifts All Bots

An older black woman in a leather jacket and short hair is laughing with her friend, an older white woman in a zebra print blouse with bobbed hair and sunglasses on her head are both laughing. They are standing in front of a display of past technological inventions - a computer server, a telephone and a wireless radio. The white woman is holding a mobile phone, chat ChatGPT is loaded on the screen. The women are comparing ChatGPT to previous technological breakthroughs.

Two older women are visiting enjoying a visit at the museum of technology and are comparing an AI model to previous technological breakthroughs. 

This image was created as part of the research project co-led by Eleonora Lima (KCL) and We and AI, “Empowering older voices through sensory storytelling about AI”, funded by KCL Creative Practice Catalyst Fund. The image reflects the discussions and insights that emerged from the creative workshop held in July 2025 at the Colindale Library, London, amongst the older adults attending the event. Respondents showed humorous and historically contextual perspectives about generative AI which subverted the stereotypes of older people not being able to understand or meaningfully engage in discourse about AI use.

New and unprecedented, is it?

Simplistic illustration of a server rack with wires trailing out of it. A yellow sticky note is taped to the rack with a drawing of cartoon sparkles.

The image shows how common representations of AI/ML do little to help us understand or rationalise the technology. The common shorthand of sparkles to represent Generative AI in particular implies something magical, when in reality the technology is driven by manmade (and fallible) statistical estimates being computed at scale. I was inspired by conversations about how visual metaphors for AI can be unintentionally misleading, warping our perceptions of what the tools are or aren’t, or what their limitations are. I drew this image in Medibang Paint.

Sparkles

A small figure sitting at a computer with his head in his hands. The top of his computer is in flames and above it a whirlwind of toxic content is spewing out. Demons, devils, skulls, death, violence, triple X, the words hate and harm bloom out from the computer and tower over him.

This image is about the exploitation of labour and the inherent harms of training AI models. Since the decision was made by large tech companies to pursue scale at all costs, LLM’s are currently trained on massive polluted data sets, which are essentially the entirely of the English-language internet, making it difficult to properly filter, curate or clean the data at scale. 

Instead, content moderators workers in the global south are required to classify and breakdown the worst text on the internet into a detailed taxonomy. This relentless exposure to reams of toxic content day in day out takes a huge toll on the metal health of workers and their communities. My images seeks to highlight this work that is invisible, exploitative and unnecessary and represents the real human harm of AI development.

My inspiration for this piece came from listening to Karen Hao author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI on the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast.

I created this image using Canva and public domain imagery from Public.work. 

Data Worker 

A brain diagram shows ChatGPT has replaced core functions of the brain, while a young girl in the bottom right covers her eyes in horror. Degraded imagery of screwdrivers and the words “Control of the Brain” frame the collage.

This print explores fears and concerns around AI eroding and replacing critical thinking, creativity and other core human attributes. The girl covering her eyes, represents both the horror of this and the refusal to acknowledge it. Barely recognisable screwdrivers remind us AI is a tool, but the rest of the image begs us to ask whose tool is it? The piece is part of a larger art series titled “Power Tools: A critique of genAI and its toolmen"

Brain Control

Sam Altman watches over a family consuming his AI. The living room vignette is framed by power tool imagery. The words “Behaviour Power” are the top of the artwork, framing the intent of the piece.

This print speaks to the ways OpenAI (and others) are forcing genAI into our lives, families and homes. It frames genAI as a power(ful) tool to control and influence behaviour. The piece is part of a larger art series titled “Power Tools: A critique of genAI and its toolmen". 

Behaviour Power

An underwater photo taken looking up to a large circular school of fish while the sun sparkles in the blue water. However, the image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts.

The image reveals the intentional, coordinated social lives of animals which are often invisible to humans. Because this richness is sometimes hidden beneath the surface, the oceans can be disrupted by noise pollution, mineral and rare element mining and contamination caused by AI development. The distortion aims to visually represent the impact of destructive AI developments that are often too easily justified by human ignorance and technological "progress". 

Distorted Fish School

 A close-up photo of red and black lava flowing down a brown stony shallow slope, but the image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts.

The image captures how the raw power of natural forces like volcanoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and floods shape ecosystems over time. These events are devastating, but often only have local consequences. In contract, the environmental damage caused by human activity, particularly the rapid development of AI technologies is global and not self-correcting. The digital distortion in the image aims to visually bring to the forefront the often invisible and overlooked data centres, rare earth mining and high energy consumption which all contribute to long-lasting harms.  

Distorted Lava Flow

A bird's eye view photo of a small yellow aeroplane flying over a river or lake interspersed with trees and clouds. However, the image is slightly distorted with digital artefacts.

The image illustrates the vastness of untouched nature, which supports all (human) life. While much of it is increasingly being first explored, we're increasingly seeing how AI development encourages industrial expansion and exploitation of these previously untouched environments. The digital distortion in the image aims to represent the breakdown of these ecosystems through destructive practices like deforestation and water contamination by AI companies.

Distorted Lake Trees

A bird's eye view photo of an orange sand mine with transport lorries, but the image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts.

The image illustrates the paradoxical situation, that modern AI tools and devices with their stylish, clean and lightweight appearance have in fact a physical and dirty material foundation characterised by depleting natural resources and destroying the environment. The digital distortion in the image aims to visually represent the often invisible impact of AI development, such as data centres which destroy natural habitats and microchips which are created using rare earth elements which are mined in destructive ways. 

Distorted Sand Mine

Bird's eye view photo of a small hut and a concrete path through a lush green forest. However, the image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts.

While humans employ AI, we still exist within and depend on the natural world. Nature provides the raw materials (minerals, water, energy) that sustain both human lives and the functioning of technologies. The image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts to visually represent the tensions, dependancies, and conflicts between nature and AI development. 

Distorted Forest Path

A close-up photo of some dandelions, but the image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts.

The image illustrates the beauty, fragility and complexity of the things and processes found in nature, all of which are increasingly endangered by the exploitation and destruction that occurs in the name of AI "innovation" technological "progress". The distortion of the image aims to highlight how processes unseen in the AI development pipeline can breakdown natural environments. 

Distorted Dandelions

A simplified illustration of urban life near the sea showing groups of people, buildings and bridges, as well as polluting power plants, opencast mining, exploitative work, data centres and wind power stations on a hill. Several small icons indicate destructive processes.

While most individuals occupy little physical space, the infrastructure required to sustain their AI-driven lifestyles is becoming vast and resource intensive. AI relies on invisible yet destructive infrastructures that consume natural resources and depend on precarious, often exploitative labor like miners extracting rare minerals to low-paid workers labelling training data. 

 Digital Society Bell

Three isolated people using laptops and phones to work.

The image shows the paradox of AI-driven work and spatial disconnection in contemporary employment. Even workers who perform their tasks in physical proximity are entirely isolated from each other; their work relationships are mediated by intangible algorithms and physical technology like laptops/mobile phones. It also highlights the emotional and social isolation that can accompany digitalised labour. The image was created using Procreate.

Connected, Yet Disconnected 

The undying sun hangs in the sky, as people gather around signal towers, working through their digital devices.

Generative AI systems help automate communication, schedule meetings, and even generate content, enabling collaboration across the globe. However, with this freedom there are also challenges such as the weight of time differences and the pressure to be always available.

Across time, the sun never sets. Exploitation? Oppression? Or convenience? This is the precarious balance of digital nomadism. The mouse-cursor-shaped birds still wreak havoc in the sky—but will they transform into stars, lifting the moon and guiding the nomads safely into the gentle night?

This series consists of digital illustrations, created by me at home, in cafés, on the subway, and even on airplanes. By using digital painting techniques, I aim to immerse myself further into the 'digital' theme. The very methods of illustration are evolving under digital technology's influence—even career paths are being reshaped by technological advancements (such as AI).

This image was selected as a winner of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Digital Nomads Across Time

Within the frames are people bound to their office cubicles; beyond them, individuals work freely from diverse locations, connected through digital signals.

Some people work in cubicles within office spaces, while others operate in more flexible environments. In the top-left corner, I depict a group of figures throwing the computer to symbolise the threats, lack of regulation, and exploitation that can accompany this newfound freedom, especially in the age of AI. 

Similarly, the mouse-cursor-shaped birds continue to create chaos in the sky, representing the unpredictable challenges that AI and automation pose for those working outside traditional structured – creatives, gig workers and freelancers. This series is composed of digital illustrations, created by me at home, in cafés, on the subway, and even on aeroplanes. By employing digital painting techniques, I aim to stay closely aligned with the theme of 'digital'. The way illustrators work is also being reshaped by digital technology—even career trajectories are being influenced by technological advancements (such as AI).

This image was selected as a winner of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Digital Nomads Beyond the Cubicle 

Through signals from communication towers, people exchange ideas via digital transmission across different locations, accomplishing their work and building a digital community.

Thanks to advancements in digital technology, people can now work from various places, including those closer to nature, reflecting a shift in work environments. However, at the same time, birds resembling mouse cursors are causing chaos in the sky. Through this imagery, I highlight the challenges and unknown risks brought by such AI-driven communities. 

This series consists of digital illustrations, created by me at home, in cafés, on the subway, and even on aeroplanes. By using digital painting techniques, I aim to align more closely with the theme of 'digital'. The way illustrators work is also being influenced by digital technology—even career development is impacted by technological advancements (such as AI).

This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Digital Nomads: Digital-Based Connection

The back of an individual is shown as they are placing their hand on a finger print scanner. In the right corner, there is also a CCTV surveillance camera which is directed at the individual. 

The image represents the increasing use of biometric and security surveillance such as facial reocgnition and fingerprint scanning to identify individuals. While the technology can be used to enhance security, the constant surveillance of individuals can erode individual's privacy and human rights. There have also been examples of biometric systems, particularly facial recognition, which have been misused and exhibit bias, leading to discrimination and targeting of groups. 

Surveillance

Illustrations of six data workers, working at computers in isolation from each other. Painted background includes hazy image of cubicles; digital overlay of glass fractures.

The image is intended to represent independent data gig workers who work in isolation not only from the larger project with which they might be engaged (e.g., flagging graphic images for video platforms, tagging data for commercial AI systems or weapon systems) but also from other human workers (through distance, physical separation, or technological buffers like headphones). In the image, people at computers face away from one another and float above a painted backdrop of dim, empty cubicles, overlaid with fractured glass. This multimedia image uses a mix of traditional and digital techniques, including licensed individual pen and ink illustrations of workers by Rose Willis, a watercolor background, and public domain digital overlays by RawPixel.

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Isolation

An imposing building with two doors and a red brick background, newspaper cuttings of job listings are also collaged into the background. One door is at ground level where a businessman is carrying a large box labelled AI as he is about to enter the building. The second door is high above ground with no apparent means of entry. There is a large flashing neon sign which reads Entry Level above the door. Three young people are below looking up at the door.

In this image, I wanted to explore how employers are beginning to adopt AI for specific, often low-level and repetitive tasks. I represented this through the figure of a businessman literally carrying AI into the workplace through a back door. This door sits at ground level which is a reference to the traditional pathway where young people entered the workforce at the bottom and worked their way up. In contrast, a group of young people are shown gazing up at a front entrance high above their heads, symbolising how the entry point into the workforce is becoming less accessible. By outsourcing foundational tasks to AI, employers may close off opportunities for young people to build digital skills and gain early career experience. The goalposts being moved, as it were, as a result of AI adoption. This image was created using collage tools on Canva.com.

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Entry Level

Illustration of a surreal office scene with neon birds interacting with digital elements around three people near servers and file cabinets; one bird writes on a digital mesh, another carries a paper.

"The image is inspired by the widely cited 2021 paper titled, 'On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big' by Emily M Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major and Shmargaret Shmitchell. 

The 'stochastic parrot' is a metaphor for large language models (like ChatGPT) that generate text by statistically predicting the next word based on large datasets, rather than by understanding the meaning, truth or context of the user prompts. The illustration's glitchy parrots represent this idea, showing how their outputs are often uneven and varied. Some of the parrots are leashed, symbolising attempts to maintain AI under control, while other respond to human commands more autonomously. The image reflects the emerging, often improvised ways humans and AI are learning to work together. 

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Stochastic Parrots at Work

Woman working simultaneously as a delivery worker, remote employee, and caring her child, representing the opportunities and risks of work digitalization

AI-enabled platform work and remote work are presented as activities that may help reconcile paid and unpaid labor, though this reconciliation often involves tensions. The image particularly touches on how these more precarious jobs impact mothers and people with caregiving responsibilities. 

The image was created digitally using Procreate and Adobe Fresco. The inspiration for this piece stemmed from a reflection on how to visually represent multiple job holding (moonlighting) in contemporary societies, a situation deeply shaped by digitalisation.

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Digitalisation and Moonlighting 2

Woman working simultaneously as a delivery worker, remote employee, and caring her child, representing the opportunities and risks of work digitalization.

AI-enabled platform work and remote work are presented as activities that may help reconcile paid and unpaid labor, though this reconciliation often involves tensions. The image particularly touches on how these more precarious jobs impact mothers and people with caregiving responsibilities. The image was created digitally using Procreate and Adobe Fresco. The inspiration for this piece stemmed from a reflection on how to visually represent multiple job holding (moonlighting) in contemporary societies—a situation deeply shaped by digitalisation. This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Digitalisation and Moonlighting 1

Two workers running inside a scroll wheel embedded in a computer mouse, controlled by a giant capitalist hand.

Two knowledge workers, running inside a wheel embedded within a computer mouse, struggles to keep pace as a powerful hand (representing employers or capitalistic forces).The image reveals that despite AI and digital adoption, rising productivity expectations often trap workers into producing more with less. Rather than easing labour, AI technologies risks raising the baseline demands, accelerating the pace of work under the illusion of progress.

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.o

Wheel of Progress

A row of knowledge workers operate sewing machines producing piles of spreadsheets and reports

This image illustrates digital transformation gone wrong, where AI becomes a tool for intensified extraction. Workers operate sewing machines endlessly producing streams of spreadsheets and reports. Instead of liberating labour, AI automation can lock workers into more exhausting cycles of output, without increasing agency or rewards.The image is hand-drawn in ProCreate.

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Knowledge Sweatshop

A pink and yellow abstract image of an office with people working, chatting and walking around. Above their heads are clouds of network connections.  It was painted with guache and drawn with pencils. 

Pink Office illustrates the invisible infrastructure of AI and data systems that underpin modern workplaces. As workers are interacting and completing tasks, this creates data which is being processed and shared across networked environments. From a critical perspective, the image also hints at the presence of oversight and surveillance in modern workplaces. The image was drawn and painted using gauche and pencil. 

This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Pink Office

A brightly coloured office populated with all kinds of people working at connected desks. There are computer screens and networks in the air in clouds. The image shows the connectivity of a digitally transformed workplace.  It was drawn and painted using guache and pencil. 

Bold Office depicts the integration of digital technologies like AI into the workplaces. The presence of data points and floating clouds symbolises how data about individuals and their work is increasingly shared, processed, and connected. The image was drawn and painted using gauche and pencil. 

This image was selected as a winner in the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Bold Office

The image is of the exterior of an impression of a building. People and figures can be seen inside and outside of the building. There are clouds of network connections all around the building and inside. It relates to the digital networked workplace. 

Building Crop highlights how digital technologies like AI are changing how and where we work. The interconnected network connections show how technologies can bring people together, beyond physical spaces. The image also points to how AI is redefining the architeture of the workplace, blurring the lines between the physical and digital as well as the work and personal. The image was drawn and painted using gauche and pencil. 

This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Building Corp

A digital collage blending classical and modern imagery. In the foreground, a hand holds a smartphone capturing a photo of an ancient Roman-style temple. Surrounding the scene are oversized receipts, coins with and a travel ticket. A long, blue receipt winds across the image. In the background, a painting of a European square with fountains and classical architecture is visible, merging past and present themes of travel, commerce, and documentation. The smartphone like a billing machine emits and endless receipt. 

As AI tools make it easier to produce content, the pressure to constantly deliver perfect, high-performing material intensifies. But behind that ideal lies a more precarious reality which is shaped by platform metrics, unpredictable income streams, and a growing reliance on AI-generated content for editing, scheduling, and even writing captions.This image reflects the underlying economic instability and hidden costs behind this all. The classical architecture and picturesque backdrops mirror the algorithm-driven aesthetic social media influencers are pushed to uphold. These expenses aren't always visible to audiences, but they accumulate in the background of every curated post. The receipt winding through the image evokes a literal and metaphorical trail of expenditures, both financial and emotional, that comes with turning travel into labor. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Keep your Receipts 

An archival image of a medieval dinner scene. On one side, there is a Penelope (from Greek mythology) weaving, but instead of thread, it is a board of binary code. On the other side, there is a a drink spilling and other figures looking distressed/chaotic. 

The image is a digitally altered medieval-style illustration featuring Penelope (from Greek mythology) labeled by name. She appears seated, engaged in weaving—but instead of traditional thread, the loom is overlaid with binary code (1s and 0s), symbolising the opaque processes of algorithmic technologies. This piece contrasts manual weaving with algorithmic generation, and invites questions about who programs, who controls, and who gets displaced or disoriented in the development and deployment of AI. The chaotic table and spilled drink represents the poor implementation of technologies and the unintended consequences that arise when workers are excluded from planning and oversight. 

The piece combines digital collage and image manipulation, layering classical woodcut imagery with binary code overlays, glitch patterns, and digital motifs like web graphics and transparency grids. A mash-up of medieval manuscript aesthetics and contemporary data visualisation. The clash of styles underscores the tension between old systems of labor and new algorithmic frameworks. All images were taken from public domain. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Deceptive Dialogues

The image shows a superimposition of colourful illustrations representing different objects in a secretariat: in the background, printed minutes. Above, the hands of a medical secretary typing on her keyboard, the hands of another stamping envelopes. The headset and foot pedal in the foreground are essential tools for typing. In the foreground, the red zig-zags typical of ambient scribe errors streak across the image.

Ambient scribes are AI systems designed to automatically transcribe and summarise the doctor-patient interactions in real time. In the foreground, the red zig-zags typical of ambient scribe errors streak across the image. Despite concerns, there have been increasing adoption of these tools, but medical secretaries still play a crucial, though undervalued role in clinical settings by handling patient records, managing correspondance, and they maintain as the human infrastructure behind these new medical AI tools which often struggle to integrate into the existing hospital IT systems which were not designed for digitalisation. These tools risk displacing the skilled work historically done by humans without necessarily replacing the care, contextual judgment, or error-checking that we provide.

The images are compositions based on illustrations produced as part of an ethnographic survey conducted in the medical secretariats of a French hospital in 2023 and 2024. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Ambient Scribes

Traditional Tibetan weaver in Dharamsala India working at a loom, framed by yellow bounding boxes that classify different elements of textile craft. The image features digital distortion effects and fragmented views of weaving tools and finished textiles. Text has been selectively blanched from the composition, symbolizing whose voices are included or excluded in conversations about digital transformation.

'Woven Dialogues' captures the artistry of a traditional weaver from Dharamsala, blending heritage with digital manipulation to explore how dialogue about technology evolves in the modern world. Central to the work is the technique of text blanching—removing or editing text from the original image—which symbolizes the fragility and erasure of cultural narratives and workers' voices as they are rewritten or obscured in conversations about digital transformation.

The yellow classification boxes superimposed on the weaving process represent how technological systems often categorise and segment complex human practices, determining which elements are considered valuable in digital advancement. Like a textile that requires all threads to create a cohesive whole, meaningful digital dialogues require the integration of diverse perspectives—including those of traditional craftspeople who are often excluded from technological conversations. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Woven Dialogues

A digital collage showing two Japanese women in traditional clothing handling laundry. The image has been digitally manipulated with pixelation effects and a background pattern reminiscent of circuit boards or digital textiles. Yellow rectangular frames highlight and fragment different parts of the women's bodies and their work, suggesting algorithmic classification or the compartmentalization of labor in digital systems.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.

This digital collage juxtaposes historical images of Japanese women performing traditional laundry work against a backdrop that evokes modern technology. I combined public domain photographs with a textile pattern reminiscent of semiconductor circuitry, then applied digital manipulation techniques including pixelation and posterization to create visual tension between old and new. The prominent yellow bounding boxes reference AI classification systems and computer vision technology, suggesting how algorithms fragment, categorize, and commodify human labor. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Pixelated Labour

A digital collage showing miniature human figures from historical paintings of agricultural workers placed on a green circuit board with computer chips. The image has a mirrored composition with the right half pixelated. The tiny human figures appear to be walking on or standing atop the electronic components, creating a striking contrast between traditional farm labor and modern digital technology.

This digital collage juxtaposes traditional agricultural workers with modern computer circuitry. I extracted figures from historical paintings of farm laborers and carefully placed them onto an electronic circuit board with microchips, creating a surreal landscape where rural workers navigate a technological terrain. The right half of the image is intentionally pixelated, symbolising the digital degradation and fragmentation of traditional labor in our increasingly technologically advanced world. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Occupational Circularity 

Delivery drivers on bikes and scooters going into a portal. On the right-hand side, there is a smartphone held by a hand onto a colourful background. On the phone, it is written the words “employment rights” and “wellbeing”. 

The mixed-media image explores the precarious conditions of gig economy workers, particularly delivery riders, and critiques the algorithmic systems that govern their work. The centre of the image shows a tunnel-like grid which ends towards a dark centre which represents the 'black hole' of AI labour exploitation. The vibrancy of the image hints at the promises of algorithmic work which bring freedom and flexibility, however, the reality can be stark as individuals are forced into exploitative and opaque practices. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

The Path

Black and white image of lady carrying a large phone chip framed inside an iphone.

This is a lady who appears to be delighted to be working. Originally taken during world war 1 at a glass factory I have changed her carrying load from a glass roll to a phone chip set.  By placing her within the clean frame of an iPhone, I wanted to contrast the polished surface of modern technology and AI against the often-invisible, embodied labour behind it. This images sparks important questions about who is building the infrastructure for AI technologies, and whose labour is becoming more precarious, outsourced, and unpredictable as we automate? The piece was created using public commons photos, stitched and edited together into a collage. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Continued Opportunity

A vintage photograph of two donkeys hitched to a wooden cart feeding in a brick street with a collage of technology as their load.

This collage depicts two donkeys with carts overflowing with vibrant, high-tech gadgets. While organisations may be equipped with the latest AI tools, platforms, and infrastructures, their progress often stalls. In this way, the image reflects on how digital transformation and AI adoption may be dragging old models and techniques with shiny new names. In this analogy, the donkeys and cart are actually weighed down by the load of the latest technology, and they will not move faster without revisiting the nature of their existence. The piece was created using public commons photography, stitched and edited together into a collage. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Continued Adoption

A set of devices which have vintage photos with modern chips stitched in as collage style showing individuals as if they were working with the technology. 

"The collage features images of workers from the Gold Rush and World War I inside the clean borders of modern digital devices. The image prompts us to think: what does a 'good job' look like in the age of AI? Today, as AI redefines what work is visible, valuable, or viable, the piece prompts reflection on the modern equivalents of those physically demanding, high-risk jobs. Outsourced labour in data training labelling, gig economy workers, and content moderators prop up the AI industry, yet remain hidden behind sleek interfaces. This image was submitted as part of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.

Continued Mining

The collage shows 4 archival images of women. In these of the images, the women are nude. There is also one portrait of a woman with yellow shapes and bounding boxes on her face. 

The number of deepfakes online doubles every six months, and experts estimate there will be more than 5.2 million by 2024. Of these, 90% involve non-consensual pornography targeting women. In much of the world, laws against deepfake pornography are lacking. Over 3,000 websites focused on intimate image abuse have been able to operate without restriction. This image aims to bring awareness to the issue by deconstructing and simplifying the process of creating a deep fake illustrated through 19th-century oil paintings of portraits and nudes.

19th Century Shallowfake P0rn

The collage features an artwork showing rabbits and frogs dancing around a pond on the left. On the right, this image is depicted in simplified, emoji-style symbols. 

What do we see and what is seen by computers? The illustration from the children’s book mimicked by what we can think of as a simplified version of what would be seen by computer vision algorithms - 17 rabbits, 10 flowers, 8 frogs, 3 clouds, the body of water and a meadow deconstructed through emojis, that are so deeply embedded in our daily communications that they have found their way into visual culture helping us convey meaning beyond words and letters. 

Gazing through the Computer's Rabbit Hole

The collage shows multiple repeated tabs with the words "people who liked this also liked...". In the middle, there is a painting of a woman feeding a goat. The goat has been highlighted in a yellow bounding box. The background is a painted nature scene. 

The image explores the hidden mechanics behind recommendation systems on social media. Have you ever wondered how platforms seem to know exactly what you're interested in, like that carpet you're considering buying? And what about the vast amounts of personal data we unknowingly leave behind while navigating our online lives? The image visualises the invisible algorithms that shape our online experiences, highlighting how our behaviours are tracked and used to predict our desires and choices.

You Might Also Like

Inside the frame of a mobile phone screen, a woman is depicted walking and looking over her shoulder. Behind her, there is an outdoor scene with the sky, tree, fences, and pavement. A hand is shown grabbing the phone and tapping the record button. On the left side of the phone, a small portion of the same sky, fences, and pavement is displayed in a different scale, representing the world outside the screen. On the right side of the phone, three figures of the same woman are shown against a plain blue background, progressively transforming from minimally glitched to heavily glitched.

This image focuses on data manipulation in cases where individuals are filmed and their videos are shared without their consent. When such videos enter the online world, personal data becomes significantly susceptible to manipulations that further infringe on privacy rights. For instance, this data could be subjected to algorithmic analysis to predict its potential virality, incorporated into datasets for AI training purposes, or heavily edited using AI tools. The glitched figures are used to illustrate how an image of a person can be altered to the point where its origin is no longer traceable. This leads to a lack of transparency and deprives right-holders of control over their data across digital spaces.

Telling Tales

The black and white image shows a high shot of the tops of a city scene. At eye level are the tops of the tall buildings on either side of the street, in the middle of the image, it tunnels down to the road below. The street is fairly empty, but cascading down from the sky are pixels which look like a QR code pattern – almost like these represent the clouds. 

Giant QR code-like patterns dominate the cityscapes, blending seamlessly with the architecture to suggest that algorithmic systems have become intrinsic to the very fabric of urban life.

The street scene shows looming buildings which are transcended by digital codes. Their presence blurs the line between real and algorithmically fabricated, pushing viewers to question whether this is a true reflection of daily life or a digital reconstruction. The horizon fades into a dense network of codes, creating a skyline that suggests AI’s omnipresence.

The stark black-and-white aesthetic not only underscores the binary nature of these systems but also hints at what may and may not be encoded and, therefore, lost—such as the nuanced “color” and complexity of our world. Ultimately, the piece invites viewers to consider the pervasive nature of AI-powered surveillance systems, how such technologies have come to define public spaces, and whether there is room for the “human” element.

Adobe FireFly was used in the production of this image, using consented original material as input for elements of the images. Elise draws on a wide range of her own artwork from the past 20 years as references for style and composition and uses Firefly to experiment with intensity, colour/tone, lighting, camera angle, effects, and layering.

Glitch Binary Abyss II

The left side incorporates a digital interface, showing code snippets, search queries, and comments referencing Woolf’s ideas, including discussions about Shakespeare’s fictional sister, Judith. The overlay of coding elements highlights modern interpretations of Woolf’s work through the lens of data and AI.

The center depicts a dimly lit, minimalist room with a window, desk, and wooden floors and cupboards. The right side features a collage of Cambridge landmarks, historical photographs of women, and a black and white figure in Edwardian attire. There is a map of Cambridge in the background, which is overlayed with images of old fountain pens and ink, books, and a handwritten letter. 

This image is inspired by Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. According to this essay, which is based on her lectures at Newnham College and Girton College, Cambridge University, two things are essential for a woman to write fiction: money and a room of her own. This image adds a new layer to this concept by bringing it into the Al era. Just as Woolf explored the meaning of “women and fiction”, defining “women and AI” is quite complex. It could refer to algorithms’ responses to inquiries involving women, the influence of trending comments on machine stereotypes, or the share of women in big tech. The list can go on and involve many different experiences of women with AI as developers, users, investors, and beyond. With all its complexity, Woolf’s ideas offer us insight: Allocating financial resources and providing safe spaces-in reality and online- is necessary for women to have positive interactions with AI and to be well-represented in this field.

Women and AI

The image features a silver meat grinder. Going into the grinder at the top are various culturally symbolic, historical, and fun icons – such as emojis, old statutes, a computer, newspapers, an aeroplane. At the other end of the meat grinder, coming out is a sea of blue and grey icons representing chat bot responses like 'Let me know if this aligns with your vision' in a grey chat bot message symbol. 

The outputs of Large Language Models do seem uncanny often leading people to compare the abilities of these systems to thinking, dreaming or hallucinating. This image is intended to be a tongue-in-cheek dig, suggesting that AI is at its core, just a simple information ‘meat grinder,’ feeding off the words, ideas and images on the internet, chopping them up and spitting them back out. The collage also makes the point that when we train these models on our biased, inequitable world the responses we get cannot possibly differ from the biased and inequitable world that made them.

Attributions - Studio of: Willem van de Velde II, Michele Tosini  https://nationalgalleryimages.ie/groupitem/40/
This image was created using Canva: www.canva.com

Ground Up and Spat Out

A detailed digital collage inspired by the aesthetic of medieval manuscript illustrations, depicts a vibrant scene of construction workers building a structure. The traditional elements, such as figures in traditional Persian gowns, wooden ladders, ropes, and woven sacks, are interwoven with modern technological motifs like circuit boards, QR codes, and cloud icons. Bright, glowing, golden networks of interconnected nodes and symbols of digital technology overlay the scene, blending the past and present. On the left, Arabic calligraphy is imprinted onto the paper. The composition uses contrasting textures and colours to juxtapose and interweave the themes and eras.

This artwork captures humanity’s collective endeavour in building artificial intelligence, drawing inspiration from Persian Negargari (miniature painting). It emphasises that AI is not the result of sudden breakthroughs but centuries of collaboration among minds, cultures, and technologies.

Inspired by Kamal-ud-Din Behzad’s late 15th-century painting “Construction of the Khawarnaq Palace” (circa 1494 CE), the piece celebrates human creativity and labor in crafting a structure that reaches toward the heavens. By blending traditional Persian Negargari with modern AI symbols—such as circuit boards, cloud storage, and digital glitches—the artwork  underscores that AI is rooted in human effort, shaped over time through the fusion of data, labor, and algorithms, whilst also highlighting the interplay of heritage and technology. "

Who is AI Made Of

The black and white image shows a city scene with a large sky scraper in the middle. Embedded on the large tower building is a QR code pattern in white. In the paved road leading to the block is also a QR code like pattern. The street is fairly empty in the city with a few trees lining the side walks. The shot is taken from a low angle, so it as if the user is looking up to the tower block building. 

Giant QR code-like patterns dominate the cityscapes, blending seamlessly with the architecture to suggest that algorithmic systems have become intrinsic to the very fabric of urban life. Towering buildings and the street are covered in these black-and-white codes, reflecting how even the most basic aspects of everyday life— where we walk, work, and live — are monitored.

The stark black-and-white aesthetic not only underscores the binary nature of these systems but also hints at what may and may not be encoded and, therefore, lost—such as the nuanced “color” and complexity of our world. Ultimately, the piece invites viewers to consider the pervasive nature of AI-powered surveillance systems, how such technologies have come to define public spaces, and whether there is room for the “human” element.

Adobe FireFly was used in the production of this image, using consented original material as input for elements of the images. Elise draws on a wide range of her own artwork from the past 20 years as references for style and composition and uses Firefly to experiment with intensity, colour/tone, lighting, camera angle, effects, and layering.

Glitch Binary Abyss I

This image shows a large white, traditional, old building. The top half of the building represents the humanities (which is symbolised by the embedded text from classic literature which is faintly shown ontop the building). The bottom section of the building is embossed with mathematical formulas to represent the sciences. The middle layer of the image is heavily pixelated. On the steps at the front of the building there is a group of scholars, wearing formal suits and tie attire, who are standing around at the enternace talking and some of them are sitting on the steps. There are two stone, statute-like hands that are stretching the building apart from the left side. 

In the forefront of the image, there are 8 students - which can only be seen from the back. Their graduation gowns have bright blue hoods and they all look as though they are walking towards the old building which is in the background at a distance. There are a mix of students in the foreground. 

Senate House at the University of Cambridge hosts graduation ceremonies and is notable as the site of C.P. Snow’s 1959 lecture, 'The Two Cultures' Snow highlighted the divide between science and the humanities in the Western world, arguing this separation hindered progress on global challenges. This image symbolises the persistent STEM-humanities divide, marked by distrust and isolation, which has limited collaboration. In light of AI, a new interdisciplinary movement is bridging these fields to address issues like climate change, medicine, and wildlife conservation.

The image divides Senate House into three parts: the top, representing the humanities, is inscribed with text; the bottom, symbolising STEM, is embossed with mathematical formulas; and the pixelated middle layer reflects the digital era’s call for the merging between these fields. The stone hands on the left represent the British education system's rigid traditions, historically favouring humanities over science and pulling these two disciplines apart.

On the steps, a group of traditional Cambridge students (white, affluent, and male) contrasts with the diverse graduates in blue gowns. These figures represent a growing emphasis on inclusivity and interdisciplinary learning, particularly in AI, to enrich knowledge and critical thinking.

The original image was taken from Unsplash and was photographed by Chris Boland (https://www.chrisboland.com/)

The Two Cultures 

Twelve characters inspired by the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals are all gathered around a long square table. The characters each have a human like body, but their heads each represent different zodiac animals. On the table are various tools and machines related tp technology – like computers, hardrives, files, data charts, files and keyboards. The characters all seem to be engaging in conversation with one another. Behind the table is an apple tree, with red apples amongst the green leaves on the branches. The room's walls are gradient orange, pink, purple to green and there is a series of 01 lining the walls - representing binary code. At the back of the room there is a 'window' which is shaped like a traditiona; 'window' tab on a computer. Inside the window is the classic computer desktop depicting a green field and blue sky with clouds. In the centre of the window is an old style Microsoft logo. 

This illustration draws inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper. It depicts a grand discussion about AI. Instead of the twelve apostles, I replaced them with the twelve Chinese zodiac animals. In Chinese culture, each zodiac symbolizes distinct personality traits. Around the table, they discuss AI, each expressing their views with different attitudes, which you can observe through their facial expressions. The table is draped with a cloth symbolizing the passage of time, and it’s set with computer-related objects. On the wall behind them is a mural made of binary code. In the background, there’s an apple tree symbolizing wisdom, with its intertwining branches representing neural networks. The apples, as the fruits of wisdom, are not on the tree but stem from the discussions of the twelve zodiacs. Behind the tree is a Windows 98 System window, opening to the outside world.  

Through this piece, I explore the history of AI and computer development. Using the twelve zodiacs, I emphasize the diversity of voices in this conversation. I hope more people will join in shaping the diverse narratives of AI history in the future. 

Joining the Table 

Three cartoon-style people of similar stature (one instructor and two students) are seated around a circular table. The instructor is wearing a dress shirt with a nametag and is a wheelchair user. The students are wearing a t-shirt and a jumper respectively and are not wheelchair users. A speech bubble appears above the instructor's head to depict the collection of biomedical data from an individual that is then inputted into an AI algorithm to predict long-term cardiovascular disease risk (denoted here by the icon of a broken heart). 

"prediction" provides a hypothetical vignette of AI education. Using simple, icon-based imagery, it depicts a small-group seminar in which an expert (here, a wheelchair user) explains risk prediction algorithms for cardiovascular disease to two students within the health sciences. Disabled people may interact with health systems more frequently than the general public, and this artwork touches on the value this group brings to those systems and their AI-ification.

prediction 

A collage featuring a vintage illustration of a woman’s head mapped with labeled sections resembling a phrenology chart. The mapped sections are overlaid by a neutral network diagram– depicting crisscrossing black lines. Two anonymous hands extend from the left side, pulling on two wires from the diagram.  In the background is a panel of the Turing Machine with numerous knobs and switches, highlighting a connection between the history of computing, psychology, biology, and artificial intelligence. 

'Turning Threads of Cognition' is a digital collage highlighting the historical overlay of computing, psychology, and biology that underpin artificial intelligence. 

The vintage illustration of a head (an ode to Rosalind Franklin, a British chemist who discovered the double helix of DNA) is mapped with labeled sections akin to a phrenology chart. The diagram of the neutral network launches the image into the modern day as AI seeks to classify and codify sentiments and personalities based on network science.  The phrenology chart highlights the subjectivity embedded in AI’s attempts to classify and predict behaviors based on assumed traits.  The background of the Turing Machine and the two anonymous hands pulling on strings of the “neural network,” are an ode to the women of Newnham College at Cambridge University who made the code-breaking decryption during World War II possible. Taken together, the collage symbolizes the layers of intertwined disciplines, hidden labor, embedded subjectivity, and material underpinnings of today’s AI technologies. 

Turning Threads of Cognition

A black-and-white image depicting the early computer, Bombe Machine, during World War II. In the foreground, the shadow of a woman in vintage clothing is cast on a man changing the machine's cable. 

“Shadow Work – Decrypting Bletchley Park’s Codebreakers” is a visual interjection into the history of early computing in the UK. The Bombe Machine was an early computer that helped British cryptologists like Alan Turing decipher Germany’s Enigma-encrypted messages during World War II. About 7,500 women worked in Bletchley Park, England, where they played a vital role in operating the computers used for code-breaking decryption. The shadow of the woman symbolizes the overlooked labor provided by Jean Valentine, Margaret Rock,  Mavis Lever, Ruth Briggs, and many others, without whose efforts Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, and Bill Tutte’s infamous advancements would not have been possible. Overlooked labor is not merely a historical anecdote. It is increasingly accelerated by the rise of AI as the labor of data cleaners, content moderators, and warehouse workers, etc. remains hidden from public view.

Shadow Work– Decrypting Bletchley Park’s Codebreakers

A woman sits atop a computer console from the 1950s in a vintage computer lab. One window possesses columns from Nevile’s Court at Trinity University at Cambridge University, and the other window depicts six potted flowers and sunlight. The background is black and white, and the image of the woman and the sunny window are warm tones. 

“Pas(t)imes in the Computer Lab” subverts the “domestic” painting of a woman knitting next to a window to recontextualize her craft as weaving the wires of an early computer. Outside the window are the columns of Nevile’s Court at Cambridge University– an ode to the women of Newnham College that made the code-breaking decryption during World War II possible. The visual subversion of a “pass time” of computing offers a critical reading of the vital labor that underpins AI technology. Overlooked labor is not merely a historical anecdote. It is increasingly accelerated by the rise of AI as the labor of data cleaners, content moderators, and warehouse workers, etc. remains hidden from public view.

Pas(t)imes in the Computer Lab 

A computer lab with three rows of four desks, each occupied by students working at computers. Overlaying the computer lab are red lines connecting through nodes, symbolizing the flow of communication, data exchange, and interconnected networks. 

The image depicts a Cambridge University classroom learning about AI. The image seeks to deconstruct notions of learning about AI as “new” by drawing upon visual diagrams of data science networks to visually ground images in the origins of computing. Simultaneously, it seeks to capture the flow of information and communication in a classroom. 

Data Lab Dialogue

A black-and-white surrealist collage of a classroom lecture. The center features an oversized computer keyboard with the two keys “A” and “I” highlighted in red. In the foreground, a vintage illustration of a woman in historical attire kneels as she interacts with the keyboard. Behind her, an audience of Cambridge students are seated in rows observing the lecture.

This surrealist collage is a visual narrative on education about AI. The juxtaposition of historical and contemporary images underscores the tension between established institutions of learning and the evolving, boundary-pushing nature of AI. The oversized keyboard, with the “A” and “I” keys highlighted in red, serves as a focal point, symbolising the dominance of AI in contemporary discourse, while the vintage image of the woman in historical attire kneeling at the outdated keyboard symbolises a reclamation of voices historically marginalised in technological innovation, drawing attention to the need for diverse perspectives in educating students about future of AI. Visually reimagining the classroom dynamic critiques the historical gatekeeping of AI knowledge and calls for an educational paradigm that values and amplifies diverse contributions.

Analog Lecture on Computing 

A pixelated black-and-white portrait of Ada Lovelace where the arrangement of pixels forms intricate borders and repeating patterns. These designs resemble the structure and layout of GPU microchip circuits, blending her historical contributions with modern computational technology.

Through distortion, this image depicts a pixelized and reconfigured portrait of Ada Lovelace cast on a microchip. Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician who discovered that a computer could follow a sequence of instructions beyond pure calculation. Her contributions laid the groundwork for programmable computing that underpins algorithms driving AI advancement. As GPU (Graphics Processing Units) microchips are maximizing parallel computing for accelerating tasks like machine learning, the image blending Lovelace’s historical contributions with modern computational technology.

Lovelace GPU

An anonymous figure examines handwritten notes overlaid with a blue light projection resembling a virtual reality interface. The projection brings the notes to life, highlighting details such as a reference to the intricate ceiling of King’s College Chapel and a diagram of a man encircled by a series of numbers, blending historical imagery with futuristic technology.

This artwork reimagines the use of technology like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in education as more than tools for optimization and emphasizes their potential to support creative forms of learning. The anonymous hand studies their handwritten notes vis-a-vis Augmented Reality projections. By highlighting visual references to King’s College Chapel overlaid with diagrams measuring humans, the image envisions image generation expanding beyond efficiency to embrace diverse ways of understanding. 

Puppeteering Virtual Reality 

A historical-style painting of a young woman stands before the Colossus computer. She holds an abstract basket filled with vibrant, pastel circles representing data points. The basket is attached to the computer through a network of connecting wires, symbolizing the flow and processing of information.

'Colossal Harvest' combines the history of UK computing with a critical reading of diversity in AI development. A young, anonymous, woman is juxtaposed with a digital image of the Colossus machine, an early computer that helped British cryptologists like Alan Turing decipher Germany’s Enigma-encrypted messages during World War II. 

While approximately 7,500 women worked in Bletchley Park to operate the computers used for code-breaking decryption, these women were all white. Through digital collage, this image presents a critique of the continued legacies of computing, highlighting the dependence on data harvested that disproportionally rely upon and systemically discriminate communities of color.

Colossal Harvest

Repeating image of four skulls with increasing doubling, blurring, ghosting, pixelation, and horizontal glitching.

This image represents both the way that AI models training on their own output leads to model collapse and the way that corrupted data can lead to problematic and potentially damaging outputs.
 
Design created using public domain images and effects in Rawpixel; glitches created using https://snorpey.github.io/jpg-glitch-electro; final edit in Adobe Photoshop.

Corruption 3 

Repeating image of four skulls with increasing doubling, blurring, ghosting, and pixelation

This image represents both the way that AI models training on their own output leads to model collapse and the way that corrupted data can lead to problematic and potentially damaging outputs.
 
Design created using public domain images and effects in Rawpixel.

Corruption 2 

Repeating image of skulls with increasing doubling, blurring, ghosting, pixelation, and horizontal glitching

Corruption 1

This image shows a blue xray image of a person's chest - it shows the ribs, the faint outline of a heart, and other organs. The image features yellow squares surrounding the organs (left lung, trachea, right lung, heart, diaphragm) - each of them feature labels such as: normal, midline, normal size. There is text in the right bottom corner in white which states 'no abnormalities detected'. 

'No Abnormalities is part of the artist's series, 'Algorithmic Encounters': By overlaying AI-generated annotations onto everyday scenes, this series uncovers hidden layers of meaning, biases, and interpretations crafted by algorithms. It transforms the mundane into sites of dialogue, inviting reflection on how algorithms shape our understanding of the world.

No Abnormalities 

This image features 3 images of a street. Overlying the image are different shapes which are arranged to look like QR code symbols. These are in white/blue colours and intersect one another. The first image is clear, but the second is slightly more pixelated, and the final image is very pixelated. 

This artwork explores the concepts of interconnectedness, complexity, and transparency in a world shaped by AI. It uses abstract buildings and geometric lines to illustrate how AI is everywhere, seamlessly woven into the fabric of daily life. The vibrant red, green, yellow, and grey buildings with their brick-like textures represent the physical world. White lines resembling digital circuits flow through these structures, symbolizing the invisible data networks and algorithmic systems that power modern society, everything from critical infrastructure to online shopping experiences. These lines—some fractured, others continuous—reflect the ubiquity and complexity of AI. Despite being built, deployed, and trained by humans, algorithmic systems are difficult to explain. This includes how such systems influence decisions and actions. The image similarly struggles with transparency; the lines’ origins and destinations are unclear. The piece prompts viewers to reflect on how AI, a product of human ingenuity and interactions, is omnipresent and yet operates just beneath the surface of our understanding.

Adobe FireFly was used in the production of this image, using consented original material as input for elements of the images. Elise draws on a wide range of her own artwork from the past 20 years as references for style and composition and uses Firefly to experiment with intensity, colour/tone, lighting, camera angle, effects, and layering. 

Web of Influence I

This image features an image of a pixelated street. Overlying the image are different shapes which are arranged to look like QR code symbols. These are in white/blue colours and intersect one another. 

Web of Influence II

There are 6 different arrangements of lines with circles. In each image, there are 4/5 lines in different colours: yellow, blue, pink, and turquoise. The middle circle is blue, and the other lines stick out at different angles surrounding the circle.  

'Toy Models I' is part of the artist's series, 'Toy Models': This series finds beauty in toy models, which serve as simplified representations of complex systems.

Images of AI library

The Horizon II - Wesley Goatley & BRAID

The Horizon I - Wesley Goatley & BRAID

The Environmental Impact of Data Centers in Vulnerable Ecosystems - Gloria Mendoza

A Rising Tide Lifts All Bots - Rose Willis & Kathryn Conrad

New and unprecedented, is it? - Ada Jušić & Eleonora Lima (KCL)

Sparkles - Beckett LeClair

Data Worker - Janet Turra

Brain Control - Bart Fish & Power Tools of AI

Behaviour Power - Bart Fish & Power Tools of AI

Distorted Fish School - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Distorted Lava Flow - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Distorted Lake Trees - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Distorted Sand Mine - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Distorted Forest Path - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Distorted Dandelions - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Digital Society Bell - Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume

Connected, Yet Disconnected - Julieta Longo & Digit

Digital Nomads Across Time - Yutong Liu & Digit

Digital Nomads Beyond the Cubicle - Yutong Liu & Digit

Digital Nomads: Digital-Based Connection - Yutong Liu & Digit