Over the years, the inhabitants of the metaverse have come to understand Web3 as a place where artists of all creeds and colors can flourish. While diversity and inclusion are ideals that the blockchain industry strives for, underrepresented creators still quite often go unseen, unsupported, and uncelebrated.
However, this problem is not just localized to the blockchain, as the arts and technology industry has long been a space where minorities are wronged. But what about the age of artificial intelligence? Unfortunately, these disembodied AI tools that Web3 has embraced have their own set of sexist, skillful, and racist algorithmic biases (as a result of their human-designed training sets, of course).
Is it possible that these tools could ultimately better serve these anecdotally underserved populations?
To answer this question, digital art platform Feral File and artist/curator Linda Dounia Rebeiz have joined forces to launch a groundbreaking NFT exhibition titled ‘In/Visible’. The exhibition, which opens today, June 12, features pieces by 10 black artists and seeks to fuse the burgeoning world of crypto art with deeply personal stories to push the boundaries of visibility.
Increase visibility
Featuring works from prominent Web3 artists such as Adaeze Okaro, Serwah Attafuah, YesDounia Rebeiz and more, In/Visible presents an evocative commentary on the limitations of AI tools for understanding the lives of black artists and individuals.
Dounia Rebeiz writes about the exhibition in her curatorial note, touching on the paradox of using AI – a tool with inherent limitations in understanding the human users – to tell their stories. She argues that AI’s conceptualization of black reality is often fragmented and arguably violent as it reflects the preconceptions of its creators.
Citing her own conversations with ChatGPT 4, Dounia Rebeiz reveals the AI’s desire “to capture the essence of the human heart” while acknowledging the limitations in truly understanding human experiences, particularly those of marginalized communities .
She emphasizes the need for the “human hands that develop his feeling” to be aware of their biases as they influence his creations, and calls for an equitable distribution of “the means of being known and seen”.
“Any black person using AI today can confidently affirm that he doesn’t really know them, that his conceptualization of their reality is a fragmentary, perhaps even violent, picture.”
Linda Dounia Rebeiz
The title of the exhibition itself is a reflection of Dounia Rebeiz’s experiences with AI, speaking of the dichotomy of visibility faced by black individuals. “Any black person using AI today can confidently affirm that he doesn’t really know them, that his conceptualization of their reality is a fragmentary, perhaps even violent image,” said Dounia Rebeiz.
Despite these challenges, the artists in the exhibition are ‘challengingly visible’. They use AI, a tool that recognizes the shortcomings of understanding, to tell their stories.
Through the innovative use of NFTs and AI, In/Visible offers a bold, nuanced exploration of visibility in the digital age. It reinforces the need for inclusiveness in technological development and encourages a deeper understanding of the varied realities that shape our human experience.
While NFTs have remained mainstream for their monetary potential, In/Visible highlights their ability to disrupt traditional narratives and draw attention to voices often relegated to the periphery. As such, the exhibition is more than an art display; it is a call to action to rethink how we see and represent the world around us in the digital landscape.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by an nft now contributor in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.