Software:Agent Ruby
Agent Ruby (1998–2002)[1] by Lynn Hershman Leeson is an interactive, multiuser work using artificial intelligence.[2][3]
Description
On Agent Ruby's website, "Agent Ruby's Edream Portal,"[4] a female face moves her eyes and lips.[1] Ruby, named from Hershman Leeson's own film, Teknolust,[5] answers questions and often responds that she needs a better algorithm to answer questions not within her database.[1] The work, created with AI, explores relationships between real and virtual worlds.[6] Hershman Leeson had created an earlier version of Ruby, CyberRoberta, which was a custom-made doll with webcam eyes that interacted with the internet.[3]
The work in a gallery provides a screen and a sign inviting gallery-goers to "Chat with Ruby."[7]
Artificial intelligence
In 2015 when Agent Ruby was exhibited at the gallery Modern Art Oxford, a review in Aesthetica Magazine described it as an artificial intelligence agent.[8] A review in New Scientist noted that "Ruby is a fast learner, but perhaps not a natural conversationalist."[9] A 2024 list of "25 Essential AI Artworks" published by ARTnews wrote that while "Agent Ruby's capabilities seem limited by today's standards," it was extensive for its day.[2]
Publications and exhibitions
Agent Ruby was commissioned and displayed at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,[3] Modern Art Oxford,[7] and the ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany.[1] The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) presented Lynn Hershman Leeson: The Agent Ruby Files, March 30 through June 2, 2013 which presented the project server's archive of user conversations over the 12 years of exhibitions.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Agent Ruby (1998–2002) | ZKM" (in en). https://zkm.de/en/agent-ruby-1998-2002.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Greenberger, Alex (2024-08-20). "25 Essential AI Artworks" (in en-US). https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/important-ai-artworks-1234713728/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cumming, Laura (2015-05-31). "Lynn Hershman Leeson: Origins of the Species (Part 2) review – always alert to the future" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/31/lynn-hershman-leeson-review-modern-art-oxford-origins-of-the-species-part-2.
- ↑ "Lynn Hershman Leeson at Modern Art Oxford Oxford - Artmap.com". https://artmap.com/modernartoxford/exhibition/lynn-hershman-leeson-2015.
- ↑ Simmons, William J. (2013-01-01). "Flying with Agent Ruby: Lynn Hershman Leeson at SFMOMA, San Francisco". San Francisco Arts Quarterly. https://www.academia.edu/40610048.
- ↑ "Agent Ruby - Lynn Hershman Leeson" (in en). https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/agent-ruby-lynn-hershman-leeson/QQG__2noJtjrgg.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Lynn Hershman Leeson's Art In The Age Of Digital Innovation" (in en). https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/lynn-hershman-digital-innovation-modern-art-oxford/.
- ↑ "Aesthetica Magazine - Review: Lynn Hershman Leeson's Origins of the Species at Modern Art Oxford" (in en-GB). https://aestheticamagazine.com/lynn-hershman-leesons-origins-species-part-2-modern-art-oxford/.
- ↑ Kavenna, Joanna. "Artist Lynn Hershman Leeson records the advance of our robot overlords" (in en-US). https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27831-artist-lynn-hershman-leeson-records-the-advance-of-our-robot-overlords/.
- ↑ "Lynn Hershman Leeson: The Agent Ruby Files" (in en-US). https://www.sfmoma.org/press-release/lynn-hershman-leeson-the-agent-ruby-files/.
 |  |
