Ants are small insects - generally a nuisance for people and usually seen working together in groups. But divorced from their usual context, how do machine learning algorithms recognise ants as objects? By studying datasets of thousands of photos of ants, modern AI algorithms are able to capture their visual essence in ways that are meaningful to other machines. This exhibition presents abstract paintings of ants drawn by intelligent algorithms. These algorithms were allowed to express themselves visually so that we can appreciate their own unique way of seeing the world.
In order to draw a machine must first learn to see. New Zealand artist Tom White has given machines the ability to create abstract physical paintings representing their own inner worlds. Abstract representations created by neural networks evoke specific responses from other computer vision systems which suggest the paintings represent specific real world objects.