The International Festival and Edinburgh Futures Institute have co-commissioned The New Real, a digital art exhibition which aims to build awareness of the ways data systems and artificial intelligence reflect and shape our social reality.

The exhibition comprises two arresting digital installations that reflect on humanity’s journey into a ‘new real’ and how we make sense of differing realities. Rather than using traditional methods, these artworks are created by artists using data and machine-learning algorithms as their material.

Mechanized Cacophonies, from Anna Ridler and Caroline Sinders, uses technology to create a work inspired by what both artists missed the most during lockdown, nature. This interactive online artwork explores how our contact with nature is mediated by technology.

Working remotely, the two artists captured sounds and images from a variety of sources. They trained a computerised neural network to interpret the resulting dataset and then generate an array of eerie and uncanny visuals and soundscapes.

The audience experiences a natural environment – mesmeric waves crashing on a shore – generated by AI. Viewers are encouraged to immerse themselves in the work by taking an active role in bringing it to life across multiple devices.

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