Ian Cheng unleashes his AI creatures at Leeum Museum

Arts & Design

Published: 07 Mar. 2022, 16:47 Updated: 07 Mar. 2022, 18:05

Ian Cheng unleashes his AI creatures at Leeum Museum

A still from "Emissary in the Squat of Gods" (2015) by Ian Cheng. It is the first episode in the "Emissaries" trilogy. [IAN CHENG]

Ian Cheng's virtual ecosystems are home to his AI-based creatures that are simulated to “evolve” over time.

The solo exhibition of the 37-year-old American artist “Ian Cheng: Worlding” is currently being held at the Leeum Museum of Art in central Seoul. Leeum is operated by the Samsung Foundation and is Korea’s biggest private museum.

“Worlding” is Cheng’s first exhibit in Asia.

Cheng utilizes simulation techniques and AI to create virtual realities that can mutate and evolve. They were constructed through his own logic and algorithms. Cheng’s works have been exhibited internationally, including at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, the Serpentine Galleries in London and the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Italy.

He was also featured in the Venice Biennale 2019 where he showcased “BOB (Bag of Beliefs)” (2018-19) — also on view at Leeum.

A still from "Emissary Forks At Perfection" (2015-16) by Cheng [IAN CHENG]

In “Worlding,” Cheng presents five of his works: the “Emissaries” trilogy (2015-17), “BOB (Bag of Beliefs)” and “Life After BOB: The Chalice Study” (2021).

Although each piece has its own distinctive universe shown on large screens, they all explore Cheng’s philosophy on the evolution of human consciousness.

During a press interview in late February, Cheng revealed that it was his interest in human consciousness and video games that influenced him to create these virtual universes using AI. He mentioned that he is a fan of the Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961) and Will Wright, an American video game designer who created The Sims.

The “Emissaries” trilogy consists of “Emissary in the Squat of Gods” (2015), “Emissary Forks At Perfection” (2015-16) and “Emissary Sunsets The Self” (2017), in chronological order. They are live simulation videos, in which Cheng explains how AI entities interact with their surrounding environments within an ever-changing virtual ecosystem.

The AI entities take charge to develop their own narratives, hence the name “Emissaries.”

A still from "Emissary Sunsets The Self" (2017) by Cheng [IAN CHENG]

According to Lee Gin-a, curator of the exhibition, the series was created to imagine “a primitive time when all humans lacked consciousness.” The emissaries embark on missions, like escaping from a volcano that is bound to explode. The emissaries can either succeed or fail the mission. Nonetheless, like a video game, when the episode ends, it resets and begins again with a whole new narrative.

Cheng described the “Emissaries” trilogy as “video games that play themselves over and over again.”

Because each story features an uncommon narrative, and the scenes are depicted in a way where the AI creatures scramble around on their own, it is helpful to read about the backstory for each piece to grasp an understanding of what’s exactly going on.

The first episode of the trilogy, “Emissary in the Squat of Gods” tells the story of a girl who lives in a community near a volcano and develops her own consciousness for the very first time in humanity after losing her ability to hear the voices of a shaman.

Ian Cheng sits in front of the entrance of "Worlding" at the Leeum Museum of Art. [LEEUM MUSEUM OF ART]

In the second episode “Emissary Forks At Perfection,” the emissary is a Shiba Inu dog and the third episode “Emissary Sunsets The Self” features “Mother AI,” which is an artificial superintelligence originally without a body that seeks to undergo mutations by taking over the bodies of other living creatures.

“BOB (Bag of Beliefs)” is a snake-like artificial life-form that represents how humans are a “bag of beliefs” — everyone has different mindsets and motivations that have shaped us into who we are. BOB is comprised of numerous AI mindsets called “demons” that compete with each other in order to fulfill its own desires through BOB.

“My ideas of human consciousness were [primarily] naïve,” Cheng said. “In the process of trying to simulate artificial life, I found that it became too complex. That led me to split up the brain of BOB into multiple subpersonalities called ‘demons.’ There is hunger demon, sleep demon, explorer demon; 12 different demons to compete to control BOB’s body.”

This is BOB from Cheng's "BOB (Bag of Beliefs)" (2018-19), which has multiple subpersonalities called "demons." [IAN CHENG]

To influence BOB’s life, a mobile app called “BOB Shrine” is available to download for free on both Google Play and Apple’s App Store. Users can create their own shrines and “feed” BOB stimuli of their choice which will subsequently determine its fate. Even if BOB dies, it will reincarnate with 20 percent of the shrines it was fed in its previous life, curator Lee said.

The last piece in “Worlding” is “Life After BOB: The Chalice Study,” which asks the question, what if an AI could do a better job at living your life than you? The 48-minute short animated film tells the story of a father and his 10-year-old daughter named Chalice who has BOB installed in her nervous system. BOB makes sure that Chalice always makes the right choices but as it starts to dominate her life, Chalice becomes lethargic.

The story of Chalice is Cheng’s newest work and was produced with support from numerous museums and foundations including Leeum.

Chalice, left, and her father in a still from "Life After BOB: The Chalice Study" (2021).

The point of this piece is that it isn’t just about how AI can rule over humans; it’s also about parenthood and the relationship between parents and their children.

“When I was writing ‘Life After BOB,’ I was very inspired by my first daughter,” Cheng said. “[In a scene] the father says to the daughter [Chalice], ‘parenting is programming,’ and I really believe this to be true as a father. As you get older [...] you have to examine the programming that your parents have given you.”

“Ian Cheng: Worlding” continues until July 3. The Leeum Museum of Art is open every day except Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets range from 7,500 won ($6.10) to 15,000 won for adults. Reservations via the museum’s website are advised. Visit www.leeum.org

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]