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Art in the age of machine intelligence | Refik Anadol

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. What does it look like inside the mind of a machine? Inspired by the architectural vision of a futuristic Los Angeles in “Blade Runner,” media artist Refik Anadol melds art with artificial intelligence in his studio’s collaborations with architects,…

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Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

What does it look like inside the mind of a machine? Inspired by the architectural vision of a futuristic Los Angeles in “Blade Runner,” media artist Refik Anadol melds art with artificial intelligence in his studio’s collaborations with architects, data scientists, neuroscientists, musicians and more. Witness otherworldly installations that might make you rethink the future of tech and creativity.

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111 Comments

  1. Eesha Sullivan

    August 19, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    Interesting video! We would be psyched if you checked out our opinion articles by high schoolers from across the U.S. on current events at the-angle.org

  2. Nekrotica

    August 19, 2020 at 5:54 pm

    so he’s a programmer with an ego…

  3. Edwin Setiawan

    August 19, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    Beyond my limit imagination. So awesome.

  4. Edwin Setiawan

    August 19, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    Where is it?

  5. Ramon Figueiredo

    August 19, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    It’s awsome but will never substitute an oil painting made by a human. That seems like something you can use and throw away, like changing channels on a TV

  6. Leandro Godoy

    August 19, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    Amazing!!

  7. Subramanya M

    August 19, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    Beautiful.. yes it’s the first step in the revaluation of art.

  8. Pzev

    August 19, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    Please tell me if there is ANY way to get an HD download of any of these data paintings, I like NEED it as a screensaver lol, this is amazing!

  9. Rajesh Prem

    August 19, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    So he is basically programming “the reveries”

  10. Waleed Ahmad

    August 19, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    Added to my favorite ted talks list.

  11. stillpaints

    August 19, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    Meh…screensavers

  12. Lori Lynch

    August 19, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    AI is all around us. Not sure people are aware🧐🤔 beautiful work. The algorithms are infinity.

  13. Succulent Lord

    August 19, 2020 at 8:34 pm

    I hate artists like this. Cliche surface level explorations of emergent tech with an overly accessible thesis. Big data? ugh. Also typical that the artists and designers working for him that actually create the works are in the background.

    • Simone Priore

      August 19, 2020 at 10:53 pm

      All the artists nowdays owns a studio with people working for them. To do this kind of work you can’t do this all alone, he talked about neuroscientist also

  14. Sayantani Bhattacharya

    August 19, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    I was super drawn into this talk.. thank you

  15. Sascha

    August 19, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    Good idea to include visual stimulation in a Ted talk . Keeps my short attention.

  16. ennryu tes

    August 19, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    the digital version of the akashik records, i like it <3

  17. Sneha Prajapati

    August 19, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    What a coincidence to watch this just after Completion of my course on AR and VR. Loved the insight of Art via science❣️

  18. Last First

    August 19, 2020 at 9:51 pm

    havent i already seen this on another channel?!

  19. quanny

    August 19, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    When I imagine the dude in blade runner who designs the giant billboards and holograms I see this guy. Dude is a real life cyberpunk character

  20. Peter Warner

    August 19, 2020 at 10:37 pm

    so cool

  21. 5 Mins 5 Ideas

    August 19, 2020 at 10:56 pm

    Very cool video. AI in Art is so fascinating. I recently made a video on it totally convinced that AI could become better artists. However I wondered if we would value AI Art as much as human art. Especially knowing the personal turmoils of the artist that is the soul of the art. 🤔 Maybe not.

  22. scummy_ _person

    August 19, 2020 at 11:15 pm

    11:42 that is a lot of skill trees

  23. Mill Eudic

    August 19, 2020 at 11:16 pm

    Generative algorithms, process what the AI algorithms are constant learning. Now, do we allow decision algorithms? Yes, but only to an level of the creators consciousness. AI must not develop into an creator, that bypasses into self sufficiency.
    bud@

  24. Jaden Goter

    August 19, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    Pretty cool work. Let’s remember not to romanticize Blade Runner, though–it’s a warning, not an aesthetic!

  25. Tony Mann

    August 20, 2020 at 1:01 am

    Im lactose intolerant and just had a glass of milk uhh so much pain

  26. Reginald Chislett

    August 20, 2020 at 5:53 am

    IMAGINE…. Applying these tools to gaming!! 😳

  27. mike .D

    August 20, 2020 at 6:22 am

    Any one that thinks Ted talks are not deep state generated with actors is a fool. The AI agenda is simply evil , get ready to get royaly screwed morons ..” Its a conspiracy theory” will be your Epitaph !

  28. MARINA

    August 20, 2020 at 6:43 am

    INTERESTING STORY, BUT, there is no art in it! 🙁

    • JAY SHOWCASE

      August 20, 2020 at 9:08 pm

      Art-ificial.

  29. Mayank Sharma

    August 20, 2020 at 6:55 am

    This gives a very Black Mirror vibe.

  30. Jamil Gannaban

    August 20, 2020 at 7:14 am

    As immersive and beautiful looking as it is, it still feels like a glorified light show. I’m sure there is still more it can do.

    To be able to show the beauty of memory is amazing, but the ability to interact in a positive and practical way will always be more than aesthetics.

  31. Austin Brown

    August 20, 2020 at 7:20 am

    My girlfriend has hyperthymesia. She remembers almost every single detail of life. Idk why but I feel like this and the amygdala being what processes and stores memories is something that needs to be looked at further

  32. Mertcan DUYAN

    August 20, 2020 at 7:23 am

    Great 👏🏽

  33. Roya Ebrahim

    August 20, 2020 at 7:24 am

    🤯❤

  34. ROSHAN JOHN MATHEW

    August 20, 2020 at 8:08 am

    New things to make you high… great! Well done humans… depression is going to be more like an important part of our mind soon…

  35. Jithin Prakash

    August 20, 2020 at 8:43 am

    Looks like a footage from Christopher Nolan movie 🪐

  36. Miraoui Adam

    August 20, 2020 at 9:17 am

    This guy looks like Dr Octopus from Spiderman

  37. Citlaly Sánchez

    August 20, 2020 at 9:48 am

    Acosador de Lola land

  38. Nicholas Kuijlaars

    August 20, 2020 at 10:18 am

    Michelintelligence

  39. solitude Me

    August 20, 2020 at 11:59 am

    why can’t he distinguish the difference between v and w sound?

    • Александр

      August 20, 2020 at 7:25 pm

      Yeah! Those foreighners can’t even talk like natives, pathetic

  40. Matteo Muscas

    August 20, 2020 at 1:44 pm

    Okay but how much power do you need to create such things .O.

  41. Mark Kerwin

    August 20, 2020 at 3:02 pm

    Wow, first time discovering this and now a huge fan of Refik Anadol’s art and vision!! well done, very empowering and inspiring

  42. g405t

    August 20, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    It would be scary if the guy talking was a character the AI made, and is not human at all…..

  43. meindorf123

    August 20, 2020 at 3:51 pm

    They couldn’t have fit more adds in this, even if they wanted

  44. D. V

    August 20, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    Beaitiful! Great! Was in my mind also when i sow the first time of my life Ghery museum. Love your mind.

  45. Richard Earnest

    August 20, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    ….wow… 😢😨😊

  46. Orion Yang

    August 20, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    You are Chinese hung

  47. Damn Dumb

    August 20, 2020 at 8:07 pm

    I work in “AI”. The technology used in this presentation is just polished technology that exists since few to many years.

    Nothing revolutionary nor really intelligent. Those models can’t even play tic tac toe. There’s no intent, no planning (unless you specifically trained it to do so).

    As many others, this guy humanise programs by saying think, hallucinate, dream. Where it is really not that at all.

    But yeah it looks beautiful.

    • srtghfnbfg

      August 21, 2020 at 2:07 am

      I completely agree, he couldve looked at the new research where AI allows you to replace parts of an image seamlessly with other textures, and a lot of others that are valid AI uses for graphical design (that i cant remember off the top of my head) but he chose to make over glorified wallpapers lol.

    • Damn Dumb

      August 21, 2020 at 5:59 am

      @srtghfnbfg image inpaiting is the same idea, this is not an AGI.

    • srtghfnbfg

      August 21, 2020 at 6:15 am

      @Damn Dumb but image inpainting is also relatively new, and i just meant that he didn’t even talk or use that although it fits both “Art” and “AI”. But i never said anything about AGI (and i think the video didn’t either, otherwise that artist would be way in over his head) and this clearly isnt generalizable to anything unless you want to make unique wallpapers lol 😂

    • Jasperi

      August 21, 2020 at 1:02 pm

      The point of this is not developing new technology, its the application of that tech to the arts.

  48. JAY SHOWCASE

    August 20, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    Art-ificial Decoration.

  49. Luc א

    August 20, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    AI is not good for advanced physics fluids models (lacks an unknown constant plus a variable rate we haven’t solved or discovered yet) so it cannot make anything we consider or should invest into as art. Its analysis of human social issues however is valid

  50. soulless

    August 20, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    I’ve seen his exhibitions in person, and it’s worth it. Go check it out. It’s really calming and surreal.

  51. asa ki

    August 21, 2020 at 1:48 am

    Cool, cool, cool.

  52. Darshan Shah

    August 21, 2020 at 4:47 am

    Phone companies should have him create live wallpapers tbh

  53. Thịnh Phạm

    August 21, 2020 at 7:22 am

    3:25 I think I see the similar one in South Korea

  54. Ruby

    August 21, 2020 at 7:46 am

    This guy spreads such a good energy.

  55. Edward

    August 21, 2020 at 7:46 am

    I’ve heard about this before actually, i’ve seen these aestethic visuals. This is simply amazing!

  56. marsterrace

    August 21, 2020 at 7:46 am

    This is absolutely game changing. Imagine that everything that was posted online and collected as data, it can actually turn into visuals. This would be revolutionary for upcoming generations.

  57. Jeffrey

    August 21, 2020 at 7:48 am

    This machine is somehow remind me of Transendence of Johny Depp. I’m getting chills over my body!

    • Lechiffresix six

      August 21, 2020 at 8:53 pm

      Jeff, you don’t need much to get those chills.

  58. Martha

    August 21, 2020 at 7:49 am

    As an art lover that I am, this left me speechless! Where can we come and see these aesthetic art works?

  59. Nikhil Nava

    August 21, 2020 at 7:56 am

    Im impressed Refik! This could help people visit places that they could never see.

  60. Ronald

    August 21, 2020 at 7:56 am

    These images are so calming.

  61. Patricia

    August 21, 2020 at 7:57 am

    Omg! The part when he talks about his uncle, is insane. They can actually save memories and visualise them!

  62. Katerina Barnett

    August 21, 2020 at 7:57 am

    Apparently bulidings can dream lol.

  63. lumbernutty

    August 21, 2020 at 7:59 am

    This is so beautiful! What you did with the Walt Disney bulding shocked me in a good way!

  64. Merto6

    August 21, 2020 at 10:02 am

    what a load of nonsense

  65. Antoine F.

    August 21, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    “how i made abstract images with data visualization and call it IA, how i earn lot of money from people that don’t know what i’m taking about”

  66. jungastein

    August 21, 2020 at 3:52 pm

    machine intelligence is an oxymoron

  67. The Shades

    August 21, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    “The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”

    From a Youtuber 💞💞

  68. Invox

    August 21, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    10:15 GEEEEEZUS! 😵

  69. Ilya Fadin

    August 21, 2020 at 11:04 pm

    don’t like this guy’s smiley face. something’s wrong with it

    • The Playing Dutchman

      August 23, 2020 at 1:04 am

      Your superficiality might be wrong.

  70. Ilya Fadin

    August 21, 2020 at 11:08 pm

    also, the technology that is used behind this glitter is quite simple. there are much more interesting things are happening now without such noise in the world

    • Michael Flynn

      August 24, 2020 at 9:51 am

      Can you give us an idea of the tech backbone please..

  71. Chrichele Saavedra

    August 22, 2020 at 12:27 am

    Have a good day everyone- Chrichele Saavedra #trendy

  72. Gibeom Lee

    August 22, 2020 at 4:53 am

    I always thought he’s like Nam June Paik but in 21st century

  73. Pagan Skye

    August 22, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    Interesting

  74. ニ ク ラ ス 乡,

    August 22, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    what a crazy and interesting dream this guy chases, its mesmerizing

  75. ADjustinG2013

    August 22, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    mission intelligence.

  76. yann Bretonnière

    August 23, 2020 at 12:50 am

    ignorants peoples goes and goes more and more ina artificial matrix fallowing transhumlanian scared to go out of illusion .. they created by illusion

  77. Muhammad Usman

    August 23, 2020 at 11:10 am

    So basically he is using data to make 3d animated art?

  78. Anele Mdlopane

    August 23, 2020 at 6:13 pm

    This is incredible

  79. BTR RTB

    August 23, 2020 at 6:49 pm

    ❤️❤️❤️

  80. TRW Anon

    August 23, 2020 at 11:27 pm

    I could this used as therapy for mental health, healing, etc.

  81. TRW Anon

    August 23, 2020 at 11:27 pm

    I could used this as therapy for mental health, healing, etc.

  82. Celebrate Life

    August 24, 2020 at 4:19 am

    Are digital projections and augmented reality the future of art?

  83. andybaldman

    August 24, 2020 at 4:41 am

    None of this is worth spreading. TED has become a marketing platform.

  84. Madhav Nadar

    August 24, 2020 at 6:54 am

    This video stands to prove a fact that not only machines took over blue collar jobs and in the near future it will take over white collar jobs like banking, tourism, medical field etc. But also something what makes humans individuals like art, music and do it way better than humans could ever do. The future is amazing and and terrifying at the same level.

  85. lifefan

    August 24, 2020 at 11:36 am

    I immediately knew that he is Turkish when he opens his mouth to talk😂

  86. Michael Flynn

    August 24, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    Great salesman

  87. Wei Chao Tee

    August 24, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    Frank Gehry’s Concert Hall was a nice addition!

  88. Rita Rosa

    August 24, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Hello. I wanted to ask you Tedx please, since I am not of English nationality, if you could put Italian subtitles in more videos? I do not understand anything unfortunately in videos that talk about beautiful topics!Please!It would be great!
    I don’t mean all of them, but just a little more, there are very few in sub ita!

  89. Yi Liao

    August 24, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    This is just another desperate try to create a “new” art. There’s no new art.

  90. Francisco Galárraga

    August 24, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    So mostly fluid dynamic cube particles…

  91. Kevin Ward

    August 24, 2020 at 10:27 pm

    Use warm light LEDs blue light causes brain damage other than that it’s incredible

  92. ashtamkar aharon

    August 24, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    Hey you! Yes you. Close your eyes and relax, everything is okay right now. Be happy.✅✔️💎💎💎😉😉👍💯😇

  93. Who is Q

    August 25, 2020 at 12:44 am

    AI will:
    Cure diseases
    Destroy language barriers
    Enhance memory
    Redefine what we thought possible.

    Before it: Destroys us.

    • H A N

      August 25, 2020 at 2:39 am

      lol

  94. Tarit VERMA

    August 25, 2020 at 1:53 am

    please leave a area of creativity and art and music for humans , because there is already taken more than half of the field by AI and robots .

  95. Master long

    August 25, 2020 at 5:18 am

    Just incredible…

  96. Graff Kim

    August 25, 2020 at 7:48 am

    #SaveTEDRussia наглые шавки

  97. Schrodinger Cat

    August 25, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    It would be really helpful if this channel start adding more information about the speaker in the discription. (Information like qualifications,etc)
    Edit: Suggestions should be added for those who want to make career such extraordinary things.

  98. Giorno Giovanna

    August 25, 2020 at 4:33 pm

    11:22 Human to God.

  99. Bhuvi Mangwani

    August 25, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    To a bystander seeing your work who is not aware of the data that goes into these pieces, how is it different from any normal pattern

  100. Corner Strong • 69 years ago

    August 25, 2020 at 10:55 pm

    Does anyone use Replika here?

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