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The Case for Making Art in a Crisis | Yiyun Kang | TED
The Case for Making Art in a Crisis | Yiyun Kang | TED
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Legendas (195)
0:18
This is a glimpse into one of my artworks,
0:21
"Vanishing."
0:22
What you see,
0:23
this is a tribute to the species extinguished by us, humanity.
0:29
I dedicate my career to translating the invisible crisis of our time
0:33
as vividly as the images before you.
0:37
That includes climate change,
0:40
artificial intelligence,
0:43
and even the crisis of our own humanity.
0:46
We're living in an era of wicked problems.
0:50
The crises are so massive that we cannot grasp them.
0:54
We can feel a paper cut,
0:55
but we cannot feel a collapsing planet.
0:59
In an endless chase of progress,
1:01
we have turned our nature and technology into monumental threats.
1:07
Paradoxically, we have devastated the very habitat we live in
1:13
and jeopardized the very intelligence that makes us human.
1:17
The result is great anxiety.
1:20
But we must ask ourselves, was this collapse truly unseen?
1:25
We have more data than any generation in history,
1:28
yet reality feels further away.
1:31
We're drowning in information but starving for meaning.
1:34
The chain of understanding is broken,
1:37
leaving our crisis so cold and abstract.
1:41
We have lost the connection and the ability to care.
1:45
Living at the intersection of art and technology,
1:48
I felt an irresistible urge to rebuild that bridge.
1:52
My mission became clear:
1:55
to render the invisible visible.
1:58
I want to translate these wicked problems into physical experiences
2:03
so that we can truly care.
2:05
But how do we translate the intangibles?
2:09
Let me take you on my journey.
2:14
I began with the most vital data set:
2:17
the Earth,
2:18
specifically, our water.
2:22
Look at this single tiny drop.
2:24
It holds all the Earth's fresh water.
2:26
Half of humanity will lack clean water by 2050.
2:30
And many already do.
2:32
To expose the crisis of this vital resource,
2:35
I spent an intense year with Google.
2:38
They were searching for an artist to bridge the gap between complex data
2:42
and creative storytelling.
2:44
And an amazing door opened.
2:46
NASA joined the team to offer me an exclusive access to the satellite data.
2:52
This rare gift became the soul of my artwork
2:55
"Passage of Water."
2:57
My goal is to turn these NASA numbers
3:00
into visceral experiences,
3:02
dramatize them so that we can truly see
3:05
and feel what is happening to our fresh water.
3:09
Look at this.
3:10
This is the raw satellite data that captures the water situation.
3:14
We have the most sophisticated technology of our time.
3:18
But who can actually understand what is happening here?
3:22
What happens if we change the interface?
3:25
I spent months obsessing over how to turn these number’s grave,
3:29
and now I can present the outcome to you.
3:33
What you see is 20 years of water patterns
3:36
turned into a breathing landscape.
3:39
This is “Passage of Water.”
3:41
It lives on Google's platform, designed for you to fully interact with.
3:47
Let's see the dramatic change between 2002
3:51
and 2023.
3:54
We are losing our fresh water fast,
3:58
and we are the reason.
4:00
Here, the numbers become instinct.
4:02
You don't just see the data, you feel it.
4:06
And this is where artistic creativity becomes an essential, not a luxury.
4:11
It is a language that allows me to tackle those wicked problems
4:16
and turn them into something we can grasp.
4:19
We brought this project to COP28.
4:21
There we spoke with climate scientists,
4:24
policymakers,
4:26
Indigenous people who face water scarcity every day.
4:31
Seeing their reactions in front of my artwork
4:33
gave me absolute certainty.
4:36
Art is the vital bridge,
4:38
a missing link that has undeniable power
4:42
to restore our lost connection.
4:45
But now we face [an] even deeper crisis,
4:49
one that challenges the very definitions of human intelligence.
4:54
The unfathomable AI.
4:56
Here you are, 2026, and AI is everywhere.
5:00
The technology is advancing at a staggering pace,
5:04
and we have to accept an uncomfortable truth.
5:07
The machines are replacing parts of us.
5:11
But the real danger is hidden behind the slick interfaces.
5:15
AI gives us brilliant results, but the logic, the process --
5:20
that remains a total mystery.
5:22
And that is exactly why we call it a black box.
5:27
If these algorithms are deciding our future,
5:30
shouldn't we talk about the invisibles,
5:32
the hidden logic governing our lives?
5:35
That is why I created this project with my students in my research lab.
5:40
We wanted to open the black box to illuminate what's inside.
5:45
The title of this project is "SoTA,"
5:47
short for state of the art.
5:49
In the world of engineering,
5:51
it means to describe the gold standard of machine capability.
5:56
AI that generates our images or the text isn’t just magic,
6:00
it's a complex mathematical structure.
6:03
Digital neurons cluster into a network,
6:05
processing data through multiple hidden layers.
6:08
But aren't you curious if these architectures are all the same?
6:13
You might assume that they are all identical grids,
6:17
but as we looked deeper,
6:19
we found [them] far more diverse.
6:21
What you see is living architecture of 118 AI models visualized.
6:27
See how digital neurons connect and fire with [their] own unique geometry.
6:33
The shape decides how to generate images, text, or sounds.
6:37
To understand their intelligence,
6:39
we need to see the shape first.
6:42
Let's take a closer look at "SoTA."
6:45
I will show you how LLM calculates and completes a single sentence.
6:51
This is how a machine works.
6:53
A complex mathematical prediction governed by its architecture.
6:58
This is the invisible logic of our time.
7:01
When we bring the hidden machinery into the physical world,
7:04
the artificial finally becomes tangible.
7:09
To experience the shape of AI is to demystify it.
7:13
As you can see here, you can access this artwork on your mobile.
7:18
Don’t just watch them -- play with the models.
7:21
This isn't just about overcoming anxiety.
7:24
It is the very first step to reclaiming our human agency.
7:30
But we don't want to stop at mere understanding.
7:33
Clarity is just the foundation.
7:36
Our true task is not to see the presence, but to shape the future.
7:42
While my previous works primarily existed within digital projections and displays,
7:48
I felt a strong yearning to pull this intelligence
7:51
into tangible forms.
7:53
I wanted to make an overwhelming experience,
7:56
something that you don't just look at,
7:59
but something you inhabit with your body.
8:03
We are at a threshold to co-design our future with AI.
8:08
We must ask,
8:10
"What is the shape of future AI?"
8:13
I built a physical answer to that question,
8:17
and this is "Light Architecture."
8:39
In "Light Architecture," AI takes a physical breath.
8:44
These modules are no longer flat pixels.
8:46
They are living neurons, and I call them neural parts.
8:50
They pulse with light, move through space,
8:53
running on the exact logic of AI.
8:56
Here you don't just watch a model.
8:57
You stand inside the mind of a machine.
9:02
Together they form a circular network,
9:04
feeding data into a central projection to manifest the final outputs.
9:08
See the light spills outward, filling the voids.
9:13
It transforms the entire room into one giant living black box.
9:20
Why a circular formation?
9:22
Because I found my inspiration in [the] human brain.
9:26
Our brains have an incredible mechanism moving data from [the] cortex
9:30
to deeper layers with the flexibility that AI cannot yet replicate.
9:36
But it makes me wonder,
9:38
with this incredible power in our heads,
9:41
are we genuinely training it?
9:43
Or [are] we simply leaning on AI,
9:46
paralyzed by the fear of being replaced by a machine,
9:50
only to let our creativity and curiosity wither?
9:55
I designed a circular formation to raise a question.
9:58
What if AI learns this neuromorphic fluidity?
10:03
What would that future look like?
10:06
And more importantly, is that the future we want?
10:15
As you walk through the blinding lights
10:18
in absolute darkness,
10:20
you feel the vastness of AI.
10:24
Is our fate to become just data providers?
10:28
Is this intelligence lighting our way
10:32
or pulling us deeper into the dark?
10:43
I shared how I transformed these wicked problems
10:47
into immersive experiences.
10:49
This is who I am.
10:52
I'm an artist who builds bridges.
10:56
I collaborate with scientists.
10:59
I build systems,
11:01
and I connect the physical and the virtual.
11:05
My art is about building spaces where you can step inside the unseen.
11:13
I do this because I believe one simple truth:
11:18
that we are all deeply entangled.
11:30
Nature, humanity, technology.
11:34
They are not separate entities.
11:36
It is not “us” versus “them” or human versus machine.
11:41
It is one living network.
11:45
And embracing this connection is the only way
11:47
to solve our wicked problems.
11:51
Let this light be my final message.
11:54
I hope it shines not just on our data but on a shared vision.
12:00
By standing together,
12:02
we can face the unknown
12:04
and create a world
12:06
where we can finally belong.
12:11
Thank you.
12:12
(Applause)
