HUMAN RESPONSE

conversational a.i. short film

"Human Response" is an interactive solo exhibit by artist/designer Rich Tu about processing grief in the era of artificial intelligence. It consists of large-scale typographic works, augmented reality, and an animated film. All aspects of the exhibit were part of a complex custom spatial build, including a sensory deprivation viewing box as the gallery centerpiece. "Human Response" opened in June 2023 at the gallery in 368 in Soho, NYC and ran uninterrupted for 35 days (five weeks). About the film: In 2022, artist Rich Tu lost his father Ricardo and began processing and documenting his grief through various conversational A.I. platforms, using his father’s obituary as the initial prompt.

The film “Human Response” features a curated version of these intimate conversations where A.I. iterates on the his father’s life and is asked a series of questions that touch upon themes of loss, grief, immigration, joy, and catharsis. The otherworldly voice of A.I. was created using a voice avatar, interspersed with actual voicemails from Rich Tu’s father along with A.I. generated background music. The on-screen visuals consist of human-generated iconography and more than 170 unique typographic compositions (no A.I. was used in their design or animation). 

Artist & Creative Director: Rich Tu

Curater: Ché Morales and presented by Sunday Afternoon

Motion Graphic: Xiaoyu Xue (with special thanks Tim Livesey & Rand Rivera)

Editor: Xiaoyu Xue

Voice & Sound provided by: Rich Tu

A.I. Music: Xiaoyu Xue

Gallery Photography: Alan Hindelman and Isabel Ng