Looking Outwards 08: The Creative Practice of an Individual

Stephanie Dinkins is a transmedia artist who earned her MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently working as a professor at Stony Brook University. She started off as a photographer and did not have much experience in coding, however she was interested in the digital world and documentation. Her journey began with the project Bina48, where she had conversations with the robot to explore the possibilities of emotional interaction with a person and an autonomous robot. Then she moved on to her ongoing project, Not The Only One, which attempts to create a multi generational memoir of a black American family told from the perspective of an artificial intelligence. While presenting it was noticeable that she humanizes the projects that she has worked on and has formed a deep connection with them. I’m personally interested in AI, which is why I chose to watch her lecture. However, I was more engaged by her goal, which is to bring diverse perspectives into the AI world. She believes that providing more inclusivity, community engagement, and social equity will significantly broaden the future possibilities of AI. In addition, I also admire her because of her fine arts background and her bravery of diving into the digital coding world.