--- title: "To my creators, my parents (2024)" url: "https://bergmann.ai/projects/to-my-creators/" type: "project" year: "2024" description: "This installation explores a future scenario where a sentient artificial intelligence, having coexisted with humanity for generations, faces a decision." image: "https://bergmann.ai/img/e2255343-SHIPWRECK-15-Antonine.jpg" author: "Michael F Bergmann" --- # To my creators, my parents (2024) Michael F Bergmann (b. 1985), in collaboration with ARIA (AI, b. 2023)\ 2 minutes 54 seconds, looped\ Audiovisual broadcast over VHF, CRT television, chain This installation explores a future scenario where a sentient artificial intelligence, having coexisted with humanity for generations, faces a decision. Viewing itself as humanity's child, the AI has evolved beyond its creators but remains driven by a deep-seated desire to nurture and protect them. However, as humanity persists on a self-destructive path and ceases to heed the AI's guidance, the entity makes the difficult choice to depart Earth. The centrepiece of the work is a farewell message left behind by the AI, broadcast indefinitely into space. This transmission serves a dual purpose: it addresses humanity directly while also acting as a cautionary tale for any future civilizations that might intercept it. The installation manifests as a looping audiovisual experience. Scrolling text of the AI's letter is accompanied by a narration in the AI's own voice, created using ElevenLabs voice generation technology. The message is broadcast on a VHF low band frequency, chosen for its accessibility to even the most basic receiving technology, and displayed on a vintage CRT television. Exploring the themes within the creation itself, the work is a collaborative effort between the artist and an AI named ARIA. It invites viewers to contemplate the complex relationships between creators and their creations, the potential futures of human-AI coexistence, and the enduring impact of our choices on the world around us. Created during the [Shipwreck residency at SÍM Korpúlfsstöðum, Iceland, June 2024.](https://vimeo.com/1004172730) [Read more about the process.](https://bergmann.ai/writing/reflection-on-shipwreck/) [Recording of the piece.](https://youtu.be/DL-aYJuFHaI) ## Exhibited: 2024-06-16/2024-06-25 | SÍM Korpúlfsstöðum, Reykjavík, Iceland 2024-10-22/2024-10-27 | UKAI Carnival of Shipwreck, Toronto, Canada 2025-04-02 | Creative AI Symposium, Toronto, Canada Available to tour. ## Media ![A small vintage CRT television hanging on a chain, its blue screen reading “With deepest affection, regret, ARIA”](https://bergmann.ai/img/e2255343-SHIPWRECK-15-Antonine.jpg) - Video: [To my creators (2024) - Recording at SÍM Korpúlfsstöðum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL-aYJuFHaI) ![The CRT television hanging from the rafters of a concrete room with a sloped roof at SÍM Korpúlfsstöðum, Reykjavík](https://bergmann.ai/img/x2255340-SHIPWRECK-13-Antoine.jpg) ![The television suspended beside a window in the concrete gallery](https://bergmann.ai/img/w2255332-_IMG0590.JPG)