98th metaPhorest Seminar: "Weaving Memories with Ancient Intelligence" with Shiho Fukuhara & Awu Chen
Friday, October 26th, 2024, 19:00-20:40
Waseda TWIns & ONLINE
This seminar will be held at Waseda TWIns & online. Zoom Link
We are glad to announce to have a joint seminar by an outstanding digital/craft creator, Awu Chen (CEO, SOOOUL) and our long-term member, Shiho Fukuhara (Human Awesome Error), entitled "Weaving memories with Ancient Intelligence"!
Awu Chen and Shiho Fukuhara are presenting talks on the intersection of craftsmanship, memory, and the potential of developing craft-centric AI and interactive materials. What implications will these technologies have for social interaction? Please join!!
Awu will talk in English, and Shiho in Japanese. Shiho will help some translation if necessary. You can easily ask any questions in both languages. Primarily it will be in person meeting, while we will prepare online zoom livestreaming. However, due to facility issue, the quality of the video may not be good. We appreciate your understanding.
About Awu Chen
Awu Chen is a digital craftsman focused on preserving cultural and spatial memories at the intersection of art, technology, and storytelling. His work explores the delicate relationship between tradition and innovation, leading to collaborations with master craftsmen in Japan.
Awu holds a degree in Interactive Media & Games from USC and is the technical founder of SOOOUL, a startup that bridges generative AI with traditional craftsmanship. His startup was recently featured in a Harvard Business Review case study for its innovative approach to cultural preservation through AI.
Awu envisions a future where AI, trained on human memories, can develop empathy and contribute to the preservation of humanity’s cultural heritage. He recently shared this vision at MIT's Decentralized AI Summit, where he discussed the potential of building a craft-centric AI.
About Shiho Fukuhara
Shiho Fukuhara is an artist, designer, and researcher exploring the intersection of consciousness, physicality, aesthetics, and materiality in both natural and artificial substances. Her work is rooted in the concept of memory embedded in materials, with DNA, iPS cells, and textiles serving as prime examples. This exploration has led her to delve into ethical questions surrounding the commodification of life and the potential consequences of altering living organisms.
In parallel, Shiho has been developing ways to make technology invisible by weaving it into everyday objects. Her work on interactive soft material seeks to understand how we interact with physical and digital environments. She was a founding member of Google ATAP’s Project Jacquard, where she led R&D on technology integration until the team's closure in 2023. Currently, Fukuhara is a member of Human Awesome Error and a founder of Poiesis Labs in Kyoto. She “co-living” with breast cancer and continues to explore socio-material interactions and views errors as positive catalysts for social change.