Theory of Knowledge at the Barbican

The last Tuesday of the Summer Term saw our creative thinkers and makers head to London’s Barbican Centre to catch the ‘A.I.: More than Human’ exhibition.

Set against a backdrop of human beliefs and a growing thirst for knowledge over the centuries, the exhibition exposed just how much data the human race has created over the last 30 years.

Students quickly got to grips with the concept that artificial intelligence is everywhere and nowhere. But despite A.I often being hard to see, they realised it’s potential to find its way into every aspect of our lives.

As part of their studies in International Baccalaureate, Theory of Knowledge and A level Art, Year 12 were presented with questions that inspired them to think, including ‘how will A.I. affect the way that we receive, perceive and create knowledge? And what impact does A.I. have on the notion of creativity?’

The exhibits propelled students into a future beyond humans where robots could interact and think for themselves and computer technology was able to recognise people by the patterns and information we have created and donated. Arcade games measured how happy or sad we were to track emotional interaction, while artificial scents were created from extinct flower DNA. Elsewhere sounds and visuals invited students to interact and as art became life, life became a new reality.

In the afternoon the students of Art and those of Theory of Knowledge went their separate ways to find individual inspiration. Whilst creatives immersed themselves in ‘the Art of the Ancient’s’ exhibition at the British Museum, theorists explored questions such as, ‘how did the invention of writing help to create, not merely record, knowledge?’ at the British Library in its ‘Writing: Making Your Mark’ exhibition.

It can be defined in various ways, but fundamentally A.I. endeavours to understand and recreate human intelligence using machines. Year 12 student Megan reflected on this food for thought saying, “The day was fascinating and thought provoking, particularly the British Library, appreciating how language and words have shaped society as far back as 3000BC to the present day, in stark contrast to the exhibits at the Barbican that looked at how we might progress in the future.”

A mind-blown Lower Sixth expressed excitement over being able to observe how work and ideas will continue to be shaped in the coming year, as they challenge and embrace the future – providing it’s not already been determined and created by computers.