Recent advances in AI have radically expanded the breadth, scope, and sophistication of human-machine interaction. Whether in our homes, our relationships, or creative work—we have invited ML systems to participate in our innermost lives. In this talk I discuss my recent work at the Machine Cohabitation Lab. Spanning smart environments, experimental human-robot interaction, and real-time performance, these projects explore emerging technologies while centering human needs and desires, revealing something about each.

Robert Twomey is an artist and engineer exploring the complex ways we live, work, and learn with machines. Particularly, how emerging technologies impact sites of intimate life: what relationships we engender with machines, what data and algorithms drive these interactions, and how we can foster a critical orientation in developing these possibilities. He addresses these questions through the Machine Cohabitation Lab (cohab-lab.net), as an Assistant Professor at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.