Bodies of Code: The Artistic Potential of Embodied AI and Robotics

Bodies of Code explores contemporary artistic practices where artificial intelligence moves beyond the digital space to take physical form through robotics. This seminar investigates the creative potential, expressive capacities, and complex challenges arising when AI gains embodiment—allowing it to interact with, respond to, and influence our physical space. We will examine how artists explore the poetics of embodied AI and robotic systems to develop concepts for and prototypes of kinetic sculptures, installations, and interactive art, often leveraging AI agents to forge new modes of human-machine interaction. Through a combination of critical theory, discussions on artistic practices, and hands-on prototyping, students will develop their own critical and creative responses to this field. The course includes an exploration of the historical and contemporary context of robots in art, alongside technical tools and techniques relevant to embodied AI and robotics. Topics may include experimentation with AI models, programming robotic behaviors, integrating motors and sensors, designing for physical interaction, and working within simulation environments.