Suzanne Livingston on Artificial Intelligence

05/19/19 • 37 min

Suzanne Livingston is the curator of the Barbican Centre’s new exhibition “AI: More Than Human” which explores our relationship with Artificial Intelligence. In our conversation, we discuss the 90's fascination with cybernetic culture, AI's origins in the Middle Ages and its Golden Age in the 19th and 20th centuries. We also try to expand our thinking on the burning philosophical question of what it means to be human.

Presented by Justyna Green

Production and music by James Green

Presented by Justyna Green

Production and music by James Green

Previous Episode

Piero Lissoni on curiosity and making mistakes

It was the opening of DePadova’s first branded space in the UK—in London’s Chelsea—that brought me and Lissoni together for what I thought will be a conversation about furniture, architecture, his latest projects, and new collections.

Instead, our discussion quickly started to revolve around concepts such as humanism and failure.

Lissoni quotes doubt, curiosity and passion as the key qualities of his practice. When asked about his most memorable projects he promptly responds that he doesn’t have any, as he is never happy with the final result. Instead, he’s driven by mistakes and the constant refinement of the architectural and design solutions. He likens himself to a wild animal, whose senses tell him immediately when a piece of work is aesthetically ‘dangerous’. That sensibility led him to design buildings such as The Middle House and Casa Fantini and objects for the likes of Alessi, Boffi, B&B, Flos, Kartell and Salvatori among others.

As our conversation nears the end, we touch on the subject of luxury and its meaning. Unfortunately, according to Lissoni, luxury has become vulgarised, associated with excessive wealth and flashy material possessions. Whilst for him – he’s a Milanese man after all – luxury is hidden in everyday qualities of life, good taste and his all-time favourite – curiosity.

Presented by Justyna Green

Production and music by James Green

Next Episode

Ben Branson on Seedlip and the modern apothecary

Ben Branson is on a mission to change the way the world drinks. He’s the founder and CEO of Seedlip - a nature company producing distilled, non-alcoholic spirits.

In our conversation, he shares with me his fascination with herbs and biodiversity, the increasing need for high-quality non-alcoholic spirits, coping with a rapidly growing business and building a laboratory in a 19th-century barn on his farm.

Presented by Justyna Green

Production and music by James Green