Output
What we made
Esoteric AI Chapter
To disenchant the enchanted, and enchant the disenchanted
“Esoteric AI: To disenchant the enchanted, and enchant the disenchanted” chapter is out now!
In this Slow AI Chapter, we explore how AI predictions occupy a fascinating space between the rational and the inexplicable—inviting us to re-enchant our relationship with algorithmic systems.
This chapter is the manifestation of Natalia and the team’s past 12 months of research into Esoteric AI ⏳ A labour of love, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Summon the Chapter
Esoteric AI Zine
(Dis)enchantment - A zine about Esoteric AI
This zine compiles the creative contributions, exchanges, and discussions from the Esoteric AI Zine-making Workshop held on July 6, 2024, in Rotterdam. Together, we explored notions of Esoteric AI, taking inspiration from magic, divination, folklore, and other types of seemingly “illegitimate” or arcane ways of knowing.
Browse the Zine
Esoteric AI Artwork
BIRD by Gaston Welisch
BIRD: Bird Informed Remote Divination by Gaston Welisch is an interactive, web-based artwork investigating the ways AI-driven pattern recognition mirrors and diverges from historical predictive practices, like Roman augury.
Through BIRD, users collaborate with AI to interpret bird patterns in a live webcam feed, challenging the “black-box” quality of AI—the hidden processes behind its outputs. Looking at AI through the lens of divination, the work questions how patterns are assigned meanings and how these meanings shape our actions.
Test it out!
Conversation on Small AI
Nadia Nadesan in conversation w/ Linda Dounia Rebeiz and Vera van der Burg
As part of Small AI research led by Nadia Nadesan, we turned to the design and research practices of Linda Dounia Rebeiz and Vera van der Burg. Together, we explored AI's potential as a tool for introspection and critical reflection. How does AI shift in shape and form when infused with unique subjective realities?
Listen on youtube
Related projects.
(2019-25©)
