Session II - The Convergence of Technology and Performing Arts: Designing the Future Stage (13:30-14:50, Oct. 17)

In the age of AI, what is the role of human creativity? This forum explored how technology and art intertwine to shape the future of performance.

Moderator

Glorife Samodio | Director, Culture and Arts Office, De La Salle University

Speaker

Seong-Woo Kim | Professor, Graduate School of Engineering Practice, Seoul National University

Escher Tsai | Founder, Dimension Plus & Hello World C.E.

Professor Kim’s talk explored the intersection of humans, artificial intelligence, and performance. Drawing on his experience developing PhD-level robots and current work on autonomous art robots (including robots capable of navigating car parking spaces), he demonstrated how robotics can be integrated into creative practice. A live demonstration featuring a dog-like robot illustrated how programming, engineering, and performance can merge into a cohesive stage experience.

His collaboration with a student led to the establishment of a laboratory where students learn to design machines and participate in hands-on workshops. In this approach, artistic concepts are translated into robotic forms through shared keywords. AI proposes visual ideas, while humans act as orchestrators who shape and refine the overall creative direction. However, he also observed that many Korean universities still prioritize mathematics over arts and culture, posing a challenge to interdisciplinary growth.

Mr. Tsai introduced the Arts in School initiative at the National Taichung Theater (2022), which focused on encouraging unconventional thinking, digital literacy, and AI literacy. Participants were guided to explore imagination in its raw form—for example, by recording their first thoughts upon waking and transforming them into expressive drawings. This mirrored the creative logic used in AI image generation, where prompts serve as the seed for imaginative output.

One interactive activity, “Street Fighting,” enabled images to compete through public voting. These “battles” could occur between humans and AI, between two AIs, or between two human creators, prompting reflection on authorship, style, and agency.

In 2024, the project expanded into a phase called “Patching,” addressing AI bias. Participants examined how cultural assumptions influence AI-generated images and tested whether refined training could produce more culturally grounded visual results.

Further experimentation in 2024 included movement-based prompting. In collaboration with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, dancers’ motions were captured in real time, processed by AI, and projected as dynamic visual forms on stage. By 2025, the project aims to include audiences directly as co-creators.

The session also raised broader questions: How will older generations adapt to AI-integrated artistic environments? And how might AI influence or transform traditional performance practices such as Chinese opera?

‎As we look ahead, a key question emerges: How do we continue to think, feel, and create meaningfully in a world where AI also imagines?