Tools in the Back Room, Not on the Wall

About this episode

The episode explores the role of technology as an invisible infrastructure in the art world, discussing its implications and the divide between tool and medium.

Hosts Chelsea and Georgia explore how technology operates as invisible infrastructure in the art world, examining deepfake interviews, AI-powered museum installations, and the stark divide between tech as tool versus artistic medium. Through stories of filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough's "SamBot" deepfake of Sam Altman, Refik Anadol's data-driven 'Unsupervised' at MoMA, and an Artsy survey revealing galleries' selective embrace of AI, the episode questions where technology truly belongs in creative practice. The discussion spans from Trevor Paglen's ironic corporate-sponsored award to Nicole Nikolich's yarn-crafted Windows 95 interfaces, ultimately revealing how artists and institutions negotiate technology's role as the "plumbing" rather than the main attraction. As LA prepares for a museum explosion with revolutionary curatorial approaches, the episode captures the real-time negotiation of technology's place in art - welcomed for productivity but kept at arm's length for creation itself.

People in this episode

Hosts: Chelsea, Georgia

Topics covered

• technology in art
• deepfake technology
• AI in museums
• artistic medium vs tool
• curatorial approaches
• invisible infrastructure

Keywords

• deepfake
• AI installations
• art technology
• museum
• creative practice
• curation
• infrastructure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MoMA, Artsy

Books & works: SamBot, Unsupervised

More episodes of The Intersect of Tech and Art

• What the Building Knew First · June 10, 2026 · 10 min
• Going Backward to Go Somewhere New · May 19, 2026 · 14 min
• The Same Sky, Two Feelings · May 12, 2026 · 19 min
• The Medium Always Survives Its Own Funeral · May 5, 2026 · 12 min
• Wrenches, Paper, Waste: Organic Holds its Ground · April 28, 2026 · 12 min
• Meaning at the Threshold · April 21, 2026 · 10 min