Explore how AI works at the Exploratorium this summer
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"Adventures in AI" allows visitors to experiment with a mechanical neural network. Courtesy of the Exploratorium.
This summer, the Exploratorium is bringing AI to life with hands-on science.
Why it matters: Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of modern life from the workplace and education to the media and beyond with the potential to reshape how we live, think and work.
Driving the news: "Adventures in AI" — the Exploratorium's new exhibit — takes a deep dive into the science, logic and ethics of the burgeoning technology to make it accessible for kids and adults alike.
Inside the room: The exhibit features 20 interactive displays that explain how artificial intelligence works. Think robots that test your trust in machines, AI tools to experiment with making music, and games that ask you to think like a computer.
- One of the most spectacular ones includes "Manifold" — a nine-foot-tall robotic hand covered in soft pink fabric designed to roam the museum, created by Dr. Catie Cuan, the museum's artist-in-residence.
What they're saying: "It will have microphones that are picking up language and doing sentiment analysis," said Ann Meisinger, project director of the artist-in-residence program. "This robot is going to attempt to learn how to endear itself to our visitors."
Between the lines: The exhibition is backed by Anthropic, a Bay Area company behind the "Claude" AI language model.
- "We definitely tried to focus on concepts in AI and machine learning that are going to be timeless," said Doug Thistlewolf, the museum's manager of exhibit development.
- "We have exhibits on the floor that have been here for 50 years, and the science is still accurate… so with this burgeoning new world, how are we holding that same standard?," he added.
If you go: The exhibit opens on June 12 and runs until Sept. 14. Tickets start at $40 for adults.