The Lawrence Hall of Science
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Exhibit
Discover the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and explore the ethical questions about its uses to generate images, read our expressions, and more.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere: it’s in our phones, our homes, and schools. AI can even be a fun partner in art and design–but it can also copy and reuse artists’ work without asking. Is this fair? Inside AI / Explorando IA provides visitors an opportunity to explore the science behind how AI is able to do this and consider the ethical questions that arise from this technology. How does AI learn about art and generate images, and what does it mean for human artists?
Learn how those funny filters on your phone actually work! In Face Paint with AI, you get to design and draw a mask on a transparent plate, then use AI to apply that mask to your face, and even others in your group, all at the same time. But how? How does AI know where your nose is? How does it get the mask to fit your face and somebody else’s at the same time? What makes this different from wearing a physical mask?
Discover how AI learns by finding patterns in art and using those patterns to generate new images. In Art Copycat and Style Frame, watch as AI transforms an image of you to look like a famous artwork or even the style of an entire artistic studio. What do we mean when we talk about “style”? What elements of artistic style does the AI pick up on? How might an artist feel about their work being used in this way?
Create images using generative AI. In Build a Picture, you’ll build AI art using four simple pieces: a subject, activity, scene, and style. These act like building blocks for your prompt. As you create, you’ll also see how the AI turns random noise into a picture — clearing away the “static” step by step. This process, called diffusion, helps the AI form images from patterns it has learned. How does AI go from a prompt to an image? What does an AI need to generate the image that you are imagining?
Learn how AI can copy your face and animate it to say almost anything. Control Your Face is a fun and age-appropriate way to engage with the ethics of AI deepfakes. In this exhibit AI captures your face and makes it move and say things that might not be true. If AI can make “you” say anything, who’s responsible for what it says? How should we use AI to create without misleading or harming others?
See how well AI can guess what facial expression you’re making. In Mirror Mirror, the AI model tries to guess how you’re feeling by “reading” key points on your face and matching them to patterns it has learned–do you open your mouth when you’re surprised? Do you scrunch your nose when you’re disgusted? In Teach Me Silly, explore how AI learns about your facial expressions by training it to recognize your silly face and your serious face. How good is the AI at detecting your facial expressions? Can AI really tell if you’re happy or sad? Can you figure out the patterns it is picking up on?
Artificial Intelligence is incredibly powerful, but its power raises so many questions about how it’s used now and could be used in the future. In Yeah, But, you can explore some of the key concerns about generative AI by interacting with community members’ perspectives about it. Who do you agree with? What do you think about AI copying artists? When do you think it’s ok to use AI? When might it be better to avoid it?
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2116109. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Admission
General
Age 3+: $25
Kids under 2: FREE
Members: FREE
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