Doha, Qatar: “Ai or Nay? Artificial vs. Intelligent” is the latest exhibition set to open at the Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar, exploring the evolving relationship between human creativity and machine learning, while examining the opportunities and challenges AI presents in contemporary journalism.
Running from January 15 until May 15, 2025, the exhibition includes a collection of over 20 works by regional and international artists, spanning diverse mediums including visual arts, installations, and mixed media. It also features immersive digital experiences, newly commissioned works and loaned pieces from prestigious institutions such as the Computer History Museum (California, USA), Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah, UAE), and Qatar Museums (Doha, Qatar).
Curated by Jack Thomas Taylor, curator of art, media, and technology at the Media Majlis Museum, and in alignment with the museum’s mission to foster critical thinking and connect with the ever-evolving contemporary world, “Ai or Nay?” invites visitors to challenge and question the intersection and boundaries between digital and human learning focusing on how contemporary journalism could exploit the diverse possibilities of AI, its opportunities, and its limitations.
“As an institution dedicated to advancing media and communication excellence, this exhibition offers a thought-provoking exploration of how AI is shaping the world of media, privacy, identity, and representation and challenges us to reconsider our evolving relationship with technology,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “We embrace this opportunity to advance collaboration, critical inquiry, and community engagement—values that align with our commitment to excellence.” This exhibition invites audiences to explore how AI is transforming the notions of privacy, identity, and representation. Through captivating installations, visitors encounter sketches morphing into digital artworks (Dream Machine by Jan Zuiderveld), robotic arms capturing their portraits (Time to Read by Patrick Tresset), and a 3D-printed nose telling stories through scent (Adnose by Adnan Ayub Aga).
Alfredo Cramerotti, director of the Media Majlis Museum, noted: “The Media Majlis Museum serves as a space for reflection and challenge, inviting the audience, and the young generation, to question norms and rethink their relationship with AI. This exhibition dares audiences to ask, where are we headed in our coevolution with artificial intelligence? It’s not a linear journey but an exploratory one that encourages visitors to navigate through the content, jump between ideas and learn through engagement.”
Ai or Nay? features new works by international and regional artists that confront the impact of AI on privacy, identity, and representation. These include Cairo-based Yemeni artist Amr Alngmah’s “Artificial Target,” which explores the interplay between software, hardware, and humanity; Doha-based Bangladeshi artist Farjana Salahuddin’s interactive work, “Patterned Desserts,” which examines themes of authorship and tangibility; and the collaborative digital artwork “How We See the Computer <> How the Computer Sees Us” by Qatari graphic designer Hind Al Saad and Doha-based Egyptian artist Hadeer Omar, which visually investigates the relationship between AI and human cognition.
