Ai-Da is the first humanoid robot to exhibit homeware collection at london design biennale

during london design biennale 2023, Ai-Da robot makes history as the first humanoid robot to showcase prototypes of homeware collection for 3D printing.

matthew burgos May 31, 2023 4 min

Ai-Da robot at London Biennale 2023

Ai-Da Robot, the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist (read our interview with her here), lands in the UK for the London Biennale 2023 and designs prototypes of everyday household items for 3D printing. Taking a break from painting, the robot artist turns to illustrating objects such as plates, bowls, jugs, cups, teapots, vases, cutlery, and homeware which are then printed using a 3D printer.

Each object has been designed by Ai-Da Robot using her highly advanced artificial intelligence technology and is set to appear in the exhibition ‘AI Mind Home’ that takes place at Somerset House as part of the London Design Biennale 2023, running from June 1st to 25th. The exhibition intends to shed light on what AI technologies can bring to the creative and design industries, starting with Ai-Da robot’s designs of household objects.

‘It is imperative that as a society we consider the implications of increasingly powerful new technologies. I hope my designs stimulate this discussion in the viewer,’ says Ai-Da Robot. By witnessing the advancement and potential limitations of artificial intelligence, visitors of the London Design Biennale can reflect on the future of AI in the creative industries as they watch Ai-Da generate what might be their next homeware using present technologies.

ai-da london design biennale — images courtesy of Ai-Da Robot

Ai-Da robot designs 3D printing prototypes

Ai-Da Robot’s 3D prototypes take cues from the practical and functional Modernist design and incorporate elements of eco-construction and failed utility. They seem to reinvent the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery, kintsugi, by steering from the use of lacquer and gold dust and venturing into letting the frailty of their visuals and glitches of software run through. These designs aim to reflect how people’s lives are becoming less focused on physical objects and more on their social interactions with digital tools.

Upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that these designs, which initially seem functional, actually have flaws that render them useless. Through this approach, Ai-Da Robot prompts us to contemplate whether artificial intelligence can truly serve people’s lives as intended. The deliberate uselessness of the objects also indirectly comments on the recent discovery that advanced AI, such as GPT 3.5 and 4, is capable of assuming and anticipating human thoughts and subjective experiences.

Ai-Da’s design work has also been influenced by various artistic movements and workshops, including Bauhaus, the St Ives Group, Picasso’s Madoura works, Bloomsbury’s Omega Workshop, and the Leach Pottery in Cornwall. The robot artist was devised in Oxford by Aidan Meller (UK) and built in Cornwall by Engineered Arts (UK). Her AI capabilities come from PhD students and professors at the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham.