A Monocular Dialogue

A Monocular Dialogue incarnates myths in the age of Information and Technology. It is an encounter with a single-eyed robot that stares at you and endlessly whispers its inner ruminations. Underneath this confluence of a Cyclops from Greek mythology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) from modern technology, lie intriguing, albeit metaphorical, similarities. This 3D printed Polyphemus, figuratively and literally, symbolizes their narrow and limited perspectives; suggests their creation from Gods and higher powers; alludes to the monumental tasks they perform and refers to their ambivalent brute force and potential destructiveness. Between irony and nostalgia, this eye-to-eye dialogue is staged as “the AI is present” and it embodies AI prowess into a mythical monstruous, yet seemingly inoffensive, figure. Reminiscent of the omnipotent cybernetic brains of “2001: A Space Odyssey” (Kubrick) and “Alphaville” (Goddard), this monocular pinhole has the persistent and unnerving inquisitive presence of a much larger hidden entity. As Odysseus, will we poke the eye of AI, this single-eyed brute, to trick our way out? Let this Cyclops serenade you with a dialog that equally indisposes and seduces, like any mirrors we cross upon.