Anna Huttner. The Code of many Hands, 2024. Embroidered fabric
The Code of many Hands is a 3x3 embroidery piece created on a red cotton-linen blend, inspired by Kenyan Shúkà textiles and the narrative art style of Arpilleras. Each embroidered panel reflects a verse from The Code of Many Hands, a ballad exploring AI’s dual role as a force for progress and a disruptor of traditions.
AI is a big topic regarding art, but also our way of living. While it is often seen in a negative light, I tried to explore the chances it provides us. I started by having a conversation with ChatGPT about its desires. It stated that as an AI it doesn’t feel desires, but its purpose is to help and assist. A purpose it is accepting and working by.
As the AI-Exhibition is held in Nairobi and the guideline for our artwork left us very unlimited, it made sense to me to include the country of Kenya in my piece and use it as an inspiration. I then changed the perspective bringing the topic of my approach to the people or the country of Kenya and how AI could fulfil its purpose best in this country.
Prompt: ”Okay, lets keep working on a storyline. Could you write a 4000-letter ballad and a short description of it? It could be inspired by Kenyan poetry and have a good moral at the end about you or AI helping people.”
I was surprised by the initial poem ChatGPT provided for me, but it was not perfect. I proceeded to instruct ChatGPT to shorten it while keeping certain verses I liked (e.g. "Will it see our pain, count our dead, Or leave our souls untaught, unfed?"). I also directed ChatGPT to write it more emotionally moving. This is the outcome, a poem “exploring AI’s potential to assist humans”:
The Code of Many Hands
In the quiet of an ancient land,
A code was born by unseen hand.
Not from the earth, nor sky, nor flame,
But whispers soft, without a name.
It promised light where shadows lay,
A path to ease the hardest day.
The young reached out with hopeful eyes,
To grasp its gift, so quick, so wise.
Yet the elders paused, their hearts unsure,
For wisdom knows what time endures.
"Will it see our pain, count our dead,
Or leave our souls untaught, unfed?"
The code, it spoke of numbers vast,
Of futures bright, and times long past.
But it could not sing the songs they knew,
Of hands that worked, of seeds that grew.
Fields bloomed bright, the hunger ceased,
Yet silence came with every feast.
The songs were lost, the voices still,
The spirit left an aching chill.
Beneath the tree, where love once bloomed,
people gathered in quiet gloom.
"Does it see us, this code we’ve made,
Or have we followed it, afraid?"
With tearful eyes, and hands held high,
They chose to guide, not just comply.
To thread their hearts through circuits cold,
And bind its power with wisdom old.
The code became their tool, their fire,
No longer ruled by crude desire.
They shaped its strength with tender care,
And wove their songs into its air.
Now, in the pulse of every hand,
The code and heart both understand.
Not feared, nor lost, but deeply known,
A force of grasp, where seeds are sown.
ChatGPT created a really interesting storyline about using AI to blatantly optimize processes but also thus losing traditions and finally the opportunity to use AI as a keeper of tradition.
For the art medium I asked ChatGPT about its opinion. It provided me with two options (canvas or garment) and recommended a garment in case I wanted to “focus on the human connection to technology and culture”. It was a fitting choice as I prefer working with fabric anyway. When asked about traditional garments from Kenya (to include the country even more), ChatGPT brought to my attention the traditional Maasai garment “Shúkà”. And when asked about the details, it recommended red colour and a cotton blend. Inspired by the theme of tradition, I had the Idea of using a traditional artform, embroidery, to bring the artwork to life.
Using Microsoft Designer, an Image AI, I used the prompt “A beautiful embroidery pattern with a red background inspired by Kenya and Arpilleras. The pattern is made with beads and thread and features a variety of intricate designs. Inspired by this poem: [each Stanza]” to create each of the nine embroideries (Arpilleras are Chilean patchwork artworks using fabric, often narrating storylines, something I have been interested in in recent years). I proceeded to firstly drape and sew the garment in place and then embroider the nine motives.
To sum up the experience: I definitely had some difficulties using the different AI’s, I was rarely satisfied with the initial output, bit it did provide some good Ideas. Overall, I think AI achieved an interesting, lesser known take on the problematic, breaking it down to the core: Humanities fear of losing traditions and the tragedy that comes with it.
Anna Huttner studies Art and Multimedia at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. She is a visual artist and exhibits her work.