Statement of the Art Commitee:

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This year, we, the jury of this art competition, had the privilege of being able to review what creative people worldwide feel, think about, and are doing with artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and hybrid systems. We received project by artists, scientists, designers, researchers and collectives from Asia, Europe, North America and South America. From the total proposals, we singled out 10 projects to be nominated as finalists for the “ALIFE 2021 Art Award” and the “ALIFE & ROBOTS” Award.

Throughout the review process, we noticed that the difficult intertwining of machines and the living is very much present as a subject of interest and concern in contemporary culture. Many of the submitted artworks reveal the ways in which AI and robotics are changing what living beings can do but also what living beings can be. Other projects expose intelligent machines and artificial agents, portraying the mechanisms through which hybrid systems are aware of their actions. The narrative from these artworks is clear to us: humans are rapidly coming to grips with radical changes in their concepts of agency and aliveness. As implied by the works, would artificially intelligent machines be liable for harms resulting from their conduct? How might humans relate to complex, intelligent entities in the near future? Would they be our equals under law? Where will technological developments in AI, robotics and synthetic biology ultimately lead?

We are grateful to ALIFE 2021 for giving us the opportunity to take part in this extraordinary and rewarding task.

And the winners are:

ALIFE 2021 Art Award: Physarum Telam by Oskar Elek et al. (20 000 CZK)

ALIFE 2021 ALIFE and ROBOTS Award: Alter the Android KAGURA by Takashi Ikegami et al. (10 000 CZK)

Community Art Award: Audio-reactive CPPNs by Sina Khajehabdollahi (10 000 CZK)

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Congratulations!

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All 10 shortlisted works