In 1970 Japanese engineer Masahiro Mori introduced the concept of the “uncanny valley” as a terrain of existential uncertainty humans experience when confronted with autonomous machines that mimic their physical and mental properties. An enduring metaphor, the uncanny valley and its edges have captured the popular imagination ever since. In today’s AI-driven environment, where subjectivities and societies are increasingly organized and shaped by algorithms that track, collect, and evaluate our data, the question of what it means to be and remain human has shifted: no longer the sole purview of recognizable forms of corporeal or intellectual replication, it now must wrestle with the invisible mechanisms of behavioral engineering and automation. Uncanny Valley is the first major West Coast museum exhibition to unpack the tropes and modalities of AI through a lens of artistic practice.

‘Countering the abusive potential of machine learning, Forensic Architecture will pioneer their application to the pursuit of social justice. Their proposition of a Model Zoo marks the beginnings of a new research tool for civil society built of military vehicles, missile fragments, and bomb clouds—evidence of human-rights violations by states and militaries around the world.’

Artfix Daily, 26 September 2019