Artificial intelligence, Toshiba, Kawasaki City, Japan Possibly 1989 - 2006

Editor: This is Lewis Baltz's photograph, "Artificial Intelligence, Toshiba, Kawasaki City, Japan," possibly taken between 1989 and 2006. There's a fascinating tension here - the high-tech suggestion of "artificial intelligence" versus the clutter and dated equipment in the frame. It feels almost like a behind-the-scenes peek at a very ordinary, very human process. What’s your take on this? Curator: Oh, I love that read! It's like finding forgotten poetry in the machine. To me, it's very much a ghost story. The cold fluorescent lighting and those clinical whites and blues—everything speaks to a sterile, almost ghostly environment. It also has a slightly voyeuristic perspective. Don't you feel a little bit like you're peeking into a space where you maybe shouldn’t be? Like you're not welcome? Editor: Yes, absolutely! I also can't help but focus on how Baltz framed the image, using the tripods to sort of "cage" the scene. It almost emphasizes that intrusive feeling you mentioned. But why do you think he chose this subject in the first place? Curator: Perhaps to ask us about where humanity is in all of this "progress?" Is there a beautiful mind creating amazing things, or is there just process? What if all the artificial intelligence we fear and fawn over isn't sleek and modern but kind of…dusty? Baltz challenges us, I think, to unpack the romanticized myth of tech and look at the nuts and bolts… and maybe find a bit of beauty there, too. Do you see any beauty here? Editor: Hmmm…maybe in the mundane details themselves? The careful arrangement, or lack thereof, of the objects? I definitely see more to appreciate than I did at first glance! Curator: Exactly! Maybe artificial intelligence isn't coming to get us. Maybe it’s just…there. And perhaps we have something to say about what “there” looks like.