Hello, Robot

Be it drones, health-care robots, self-driving cars, smart cities or the Internet of Things – the ubiquity of robotics and artificial intelligence in today’s world was hardly imaginable just a few decades ago. The exhibition “Hello, Robot” investigated how robotics has infiltrated our everyday lives, and how we deal with the increasingly intelligent, autonomous and self-learning world of objects and infrastructure. At the centre of the exhibition was the issue of design and in what crucial way it influences interaction between humans and machines. The displayed items comprised everyday objects, works of art, films, and examples of web design and interactive design. The exhibition began with modernity’s enthusiasm for artificial humanoids. This was followed by an overview about robotics in industry and the working world, as well as the dangers apparently inherent to it. Another part of the exhibition addressed the everyday “Friends and Helpers”, and robots with which we interact very closely – in the household, in health care and cybersex. Another theme was the complete convergence or fusion of human and machine, for example, when intelligent sensors are implanted in our bodies or when we live in self-learning buildings. Like the exhibition, the accompanying event programme also highlighted cultural, social and ethical considerations which have arisen from these developments. The exhibition was a cooperative project by three design museums and has been shown in Weil am Rhein, Vienna, Ghent and other cities.

Artistic director: Amelie Klein
Curators: Thomas Geisler (AT), Marlies Wirth (AT), Fredo de Smet (BE)

Participants: Gesche Joost, Paul Feigelfeld, Automato.farm, Philip Beesley (GB), Wafaa Bilal (IQ), Sander Burger (CI), Dan Chen, Dunne & Raby, Flower Robotics, Foster+Partners / Afrotech EPFL (GB), Sabine Himmelsbach (CH), Carlo Ratti (IT), Bruce Sterling (US) and others

Additional Venues:

Design Museum Ghent, Ghent: end of October 2017 – mid-April 2018;
Gewerbemuseum, Winterthur: 12 May –4 Nov. 2018;