Relics, Robots, the Body and Religion – Hybrid Relics

written by Alan Chamberlain

Thinking about Responsible Research in the context of Interdisciplinary Design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A short while ago ‘Hybrid Relics’ came to an end and my developing approaches and theoretical leanings have evolved, forming the basis for research to take forward into other programmes – such as the Turing AI Fellowship Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI and RAI UK (RAKE).

As we move into a research domain that is exploring the nature of AI and embodiment – in terms of robotics, soma (human physicality) and physical objects – it is important to reflect on the nature of the ways that different cultures perceive the body and how this relates to identity and the things in the world that have meaning to them, their beliefs and practices.

 

Future Research

In an area that I’m exploring, ‘pain’, there is an intersection between pain and belief which is not fully understood. Pain is an area that intersects with many research areas, spanning neuroscience, philosophy, medicine, robotics and technology. We’re currently planning a Somabotics workshop, and on a recent visit to Denmark I was able to discuss some exciting ideas with Mads Bødker around possible shared (UK/Danish) research engagement events – building on our existing international partnerships – watch this space! As part of this we’ve been discussing the concept of the ‘imperceptible’ and embodiment, and how there are things in our lives that have an impact upon us physically, yet aren’t perceptible, at least immediately. We were exploring the notion of ‘Soma in the City’, thinking about the opportunities that a city such as Copenhagen offer, and the ways that the imperceptible impacts upon the body, and how this could be an approach to design. While in Denmark, I also got the chance to attend an AI & Music event held at Maribo, organised by Sine Zambach and Mads (and team). This was a great event and an area that aligns with my previous and ongoing research, which led us starting to develop all kinds of plans and discussions around responsible archiving, AI and responsible music performance/composition. I’m also hoping to use a research visit to Helsinki to start to explore this in July. Please get in touch if you want to meet.

 

I’m now a Visiting Professor at Aberystwyth University. In the past, Aberystwyth and Nottingham have had some really interesting research discussions, particularly in the area of AI and the Digital Humanities. One of the topics that emerged from discussions with Prof Charles Musselwhite in Psychology, was aging and the ways that people are perceived and the different requirements that we have as we age – perhaps this relates back to the ‘imperceptible’ soma notion I raised earlier? In relation to Somabotics this perhaps makes us realise that there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to design when we think about bodies (or perceptions of the body, mind and so on). Physical things, us (me and you) change and are not constant. Many things have an impact upon us, and we on others, and we need to recognise that these experiences can shape us and can be highly individual – something we need to reflect upon when we look at responsible research and innovation.

Hybrid Relics currently has publications in review, however one we can share is this open access research paper Augmenting musical instruments with digital identities.

 

 

 

 

Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, embodiment, hybrid relics, RAI UK, soma, Somabotics Creatively Embodying Artificial Intelligence