Katia Wille & Maisa Penha Art & Artificial Intelligence - .Futuro Rio 2019 Augmented Humani

During .Futuro Rio Brazilian visual artist Kátia Wille and Maisa Penha (Microsoft Brazil) talk about "Das tripas coração", an interactive exhibition with the use of artificial intelligence in partnership with Microsoft, at Galeria do Lago - Museu da República in Rio de Janeiro. The project uses robotics, environment analysis, feelings and voice to connect the audience with the works and provide a unique experience to each viewer through technology.

To make this possible, the company used Azure, Microsoft's cognitive cloud services, in order to bring the works to life.

Unique structures and pieces were also designed using robotics to allow the movement of the artwork according to the audience's reactions.

"AI is no longer something distant from people's daily life and the possibility of integrating artificial intelligence into the artistic environment, modifying the way we interact with a work of art, shows just that. Microsoft has made a commitment to democratize AI and this is a project that dialogues with our purpose," says Maisa Penha, director of technology for partners and AI in Latin America.

The exhibition counts on three works and each of them brings a different experience to the viewer. The first one interacts by means of approach analysis and moves according to the movement of the audience in the environment, while the second behaves in different ways based on people's feelings and facial expressions. The last one uses voice interaction based on the responses given by the visitor to certain questions asked by the work.

Through these three experiences, uniting art and technology, the exhibition "Das tripas coração" brings together computational vision resources - including feeling analysis algorithms - as well as speech recognition. These are two of the AI fields that have received the most attention, having been incorporated into the creation of several innovations. The same resources are available in the Microsoft Cloud and can be used for other companies and developers to create new applications, either in the art universe or in other areas where the use of AI has not yet been explored.

According to artist Katia Wille, the idea is to establish a sensorial symbiosis between works of art and the viewer. "I want to expose the vulnerability of human relations to the maximum. The ultimate goal is to begin to create a mirror of ourselves in the works: the body would be represented by the robotic arms and sensors responsible for the movements, the mind by the artificial intelligence that learns from our feelings and gives the commands so that the movements happen, and the soul is represented by the art of eco-latex membranes painted as a fragile and gleaming skin. This establishes a relationship of trust and immersion between the artist, the work and the audience," says Katia Wille.

The material used in the exhibition allowed the interaction with the public, because eco-latex is a thin membrane that mimics the human skin and the lightness of the pieces facilitated movement. "Bringing new interpretations of art through technology from this project reflects Microsoft's mission that is empowering each person and organization to achieve more," says Maísa.

Find out more about Katia Wille

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Katia Wille studied visual arts at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and has spent the last 10 years living and working between Europe, Asia and Brazil. Questions about the feminine, the search for its essence and transformations, have always populated the works of the artist, who uses motion and color integrated into the whole. Delicacy of forms, action that develops both in circles and interlacing, invites the viewer to delve into mythical waters and to be carried away by the charming gaze of its nymphs, the power of goddesses, and the strength of woman.

About Microsoft

Microsoft enables digital transformation in the age of the intelligent cloud and smart frontier. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. The company has been in Brazil for 29 years and is one of 110 subsidiaries of the Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975. Since 2003, the company has invested over BRL 600 million, bringing free technology to 3,191 NGOs in Brazil, benefiting various social projects. Between 2011 and 2017, Microsoft has supported more than 6,200 startups in Brazil, with a