One of the key questions surrounding AI is whether an intelligence programmed by humans and created by machines can be called conscious. This immersive VR performance puts a metaphysical twist on this question and asks how AI can develop a spiritual consciousness. To explore this, director Jakob la Cour invited a team of artists and experts to engage in conversations and collaboration with various forms of AI. The result is a highly immersive, multi-sensory experience within a virtual environment. In Artificial Awakening, a small group of visitors, the “Seekers of Transcendence”, experience a virtually mediated ceremony using VR headsets with finger tracking. Guided by a “Channeler” they arrive in a mystical hyperspace, where a real-time performer channels the rituals of the AI in gentle and immersive ways. Upon entering the algorithmic ceremony, the visitors encounter an artificial environment unfolding its secrets through a series of events initiated by AI.
