Artificial intelligence isn’t just about algorithms and automation — it’s rooted in centuries of human fascination with consciousness, creativity, and what it means to be human. On June 4 and 5, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) invites the community to a unique event that brings AI out of the abstract and into an interactive, experiential form. Internationally recognized digital artist David Rokeby will present Surfing the Manifold: Adventures in Latent Space, offering attendees a chance to engage directly with AI technology through interactive demonstrations and insightful talks.

Rokeby brings a distinctive perspective to this exploration through his work as director of the University of Toronto’s BMO Laboratory for Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies, and AI. The lab focuses on the integration of AI with the performing arts and humanities, creating immersive experiences where AI is not just a tool but a creative collaborator. Presented by RPI’s School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, this event continues RPI’s tradition of bringing visionary thinkers to campus to explore the intersection of technology, culture, and society.

"There’s a deep cultural and philosophical backstory to AI that's often overlooked — stretching from folklore about golems and mythical forms of sentience, to today's dominant sci-fi and apocalyptic narratives,” said Michael Century, professor of new media and music at RPI. “David Rokeby draws on decades of work in immersive, interactive art to approach AI as a medium for creative expression — one that promotes intuition and the exploration of ever-changing subjectivity, emotion, memory, and consciousness."

During the event, Rokeby will demonstrate innovative systems developed at the BMO Lab that allow users to explore AI’s hidden computational spaces — known as latent spaces — in real time. For instance, the Voice Scroll project is an AI system that transforms spoken voice into a continually evolving visual panorama in real time.  

In this fusion of technology and the arts, Rokeby’s work invites participants to navigate AI-generated possibilities intuitively, fostering a collaborative relationship between humans and intelligent systems.

Rokeby is a trained visual artist and a self-taught software and hardware developer. He is widely recognized for creating Very Nervous System (VNS), an early and influential interactive installation that used real-time video sensing to translate physical movement into sound. This groundbreaking work laid the foundation for his continued exploration of machine vision, computational linguistics, and algorithmic performance. In addition to his artistic practice, Rokeby has published influential essays on interactivity and virtual reality, contributing significantly to the theory as well as the practice of media art. His achievements include the Golden Nica for Interactive Art from Ars Electronica and the Governor-General’s Award for Visual and Media Art.

Event Details:

Lecture: June 4, 2025, at 4 p.m. at RPI in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) Auditorium.

Interactive Demonstrations: June 5, 2025, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 2:00-3:30 p.m. in West Hall Room 326.

Media inquiries and interview requests: David Rokeby will be available for interviews before and after the event. For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact newsmedia@rpi.edu.