Beyond the Human?: From the Metaphysical to the Physical
A Symposium on AI and the Arts
Presented by USC Arts Now
Co-sponsored by USC Visions and Voices and the USC Center for Generative AI and Society

PROGRAM:
Click HERE for more information and bios.

ADMISSION & CAMPUS ACCESS:
Admission is free. Reservations are required. Campus access is limited to registered guests and USC students, staff, and faculty with current USC ID. 

RSVP

DESCRIPTION:
Co-curated by USC Vice Provost for the Arts Josh Kun and renowned contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, Beyond the Human?: From the Metaphysical to the Physical is a daylong symposium that explores the impact of AI on the arts. 

Speakers and performers will explore questions including:

> What is the role of the artist in a computational future?
> What are the promises and perils of AI’s expansion of what it means to be human?
> What is AI’s potential for moving us beyond human exceptionalism into realms of inter-species and inter-materialist consciousness?
> Can AI move us beyond a singular self?
> How does AI impact our sense of the physical?
> How does AI imagine and enact the metaphysical?
> How can artists use AI to build new worlds? 

Order of Speakers (subject to change):

9 a.m.: Morning Session
- Welcome by Josh Kun
- Cai Guo-Qiang
- Catie Cuan
- Burçin Becerik-Gerber
- Zoë Hitzig
- Aroussiak Gabrielian
- Troy Therrien​​​​​​

12:05 p.m.: Lunch
Lunch is generously provided by Tigawok, powered by Next Robot AI Cooking Robot. Please note that lunch tickets are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the event check-in.

1:05 p.m.: Afternoon Session
- Refik Anadol
- Minne Atairu
- Kira Xonorika
- Harry Yeff aka Reeps100
- Nancy Baker-Cahill

Pop-up film screenings will be curated by Holly Willis, USC professor of cinematic arts.

Related events:

Daytime Fireworks by Cai Guo-Qiang
WE ARE: Explosion Event for PST ART
Sunday, September 15, 2024
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Commissioned and presented by Getty, in collaboration with USC.  
For more information, click HERE. 

Cai Guo-Qiang: A Material Odyssey
Tuesday, September 17, 2024–Sunday, June 15, 2025
USC Pacific Asia Museum
Co-organized by Getty and the USC Pacific Asia Museum.
For more information, click HERE.