Also outside your home
07-05-2024
'You need a village to grow old'. Under this heading, a two-year research project was carried out on AI art objects in public spaces to encourage encounters between people (with and without dementia) in the neighbourhood. This project responded to the need of people with dementia to continue living at home in the neighbourhood where they feel comfortable and safe.
During the closing event on Friday, April 12, 2024, all consortium partners involved were briefly given the opportunity to share their input and experiences in their own way.
Social feature
From TU Eindhoven, project leader Masi Mohammadi thanked all participants for their efforts, cooperation and the result. It was an investigation that presented both opportunities and unexpected challenges. The Technical University conducted research into public familiarity: do people recognize and meet each other more by placing an art object in the Helmersbuurt?
Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging then gave an artistic representation of the course of the collaboration in the project through beautiful dance and poetry.
Digital story
Somaya Ben Allouch, Saskia Robben and Marwan el Morabet were involved from the reserach group Digital Life of the AUAS (Faculty DMCI). They - like the other researchers in this project - used the 'Citizen Science' methodology to discuss their specific wishes, demands and needs when it comes to a dementia-friendly neighborhood with various residents of the Stadsdorp Vondel/Helmers involved. with the use of Artificial Intelligence works of art.
Citizen Science combines the power of active citizenship with the power of science by involving citizens with different backgrounds and interests in formulating research questions, collecting and analyzing data, and determining action. In this research project it was experienced that the residents of the Stadsdorp have become equal interlocutors when it comes to digital knowledge, which was a welcome experience for the researchers.
Senior researcher Saskia Robben says:
'Specifically with regard to technology and AI, I think we were able to introduce a group of people to its possibilities and explain some things, which got them involved.
We are proud of the citizens as over the course of the project they have become good, informed discussion partners when it comes to making decisions regarding the design of applications with AI.'
Despite the unique input of all city villagers, their needs were still fairly homogeneous on the basis of which a clear application could be built.
illi-tv, as a consortium partner, helped build this digital application.
A whole art
Stichting WG Kunst is a cultural institution that organizes exhibitions and provides art educational projects in the field of contemporary visual arts. The objective of WG Kunst is to generate and increase interest in visual arts by actively bringing a broad audience into contact with art in an accessible manner.
WG Kunst is located in the middle of Stadsdorp Vondel/Helmers and is very enthusiastic that it was able to participate as part of this research consortium. AI works of art are rich in interaction and promote social contact, but in practice many dilemmas often arise where democratic participation is at stake. The Citizen Science approach has overcome this well.
The AI art object that was created has become 'The Neighborhood Story Bank'. This bench is like a bus shelter, where you can talk to whoever you meet without a bus ever coming here. New encounters arise and it fulfills a social function in the City Village.
Meeting groups from the Foundation for Informal Care and Dementia were involved in the design of this bench.
A resident associated with Stadsdorp Vondel Helmers gave a thunderous closing speech, which she had not written herself but had drawn up by ChatGPT. That turned out to be a 'lesson learned' from her involvement in the Citizen Science meetings from this project.
The overall final conclusion? 'It takes a village to grow old' is an ode to the citizens themselves, who together promote the social function in the Stadsdorp Vondel/Helmers - under the motto 'Your home is also outside' - with technology and art as supporting factors .