GIGABYTE AI New Era - computex exhibition

Guess what the main theme of this year's Computex was? 

Yes, it was Artificial Intelligence!

But let's be honest, not all AI applications are created equal and we do tend to hear the term being thrown around loosely. Particularly in our industry, and sometimes in the most peculiar ways.

That's one of the reasons why it was refreshing to see the Gigabyte AI exhibition that took place this month in Taipei, as part of Computex 2024. Finally, proper AI.

Not only did it touch on the actual practical uses of Artificial Intelligence, but it does something that I love, which is bringing artists to the fold, instead of using AI as a replacement for human creativity, like you often see.

So, not only were you able to experience AI in the most popular sense that most of us know (and love, or at least feel tremendous interest in), but also to see actual artists being given the use of AI tools to create an immersive experience of their liking and transmit a message to an audience: seeing them use it as a brush to create a painting of emotions in the viewer. Isn't that what art is? 

This brings us to part 1 of the Exhibit,

The Artist Showcase:

"Microdosys", by Ygor Marotta.

This Brazilian artist, known for urban art projections, particularly on street corners (yes, really) and a very romantic art style, created this real-time AI-generated composition running on the AORUS 16X laptop.

In theory, you could change what the artist has created. The Aorus laptop was right there, so surely no one would notice if you made some tweaks, right? But no one dared. In a way, I think that's an interesting part of the installation itself. Perhaps the artist wanted you to change the art? Perhaps having the freedom to do so is art in itself.

Besides what I would call this more "traditional" art visual, two installations were a bit more unorthodox.

Chaos Grammar β, by Taiwanese artist Tim Wei allowed direct interaction between the audience and the exhibit: asking us to choose an animal, any animal, with any characteristics, and allowed us to experience it (I actually chose to create a furry ping penguin, don't judge me) amidst chaos and cacophony of (scary) audio and visuals.

Amidst the experience you chose there was an echo of all other creations by those who interacted with the exhibit before you, and the certainty that your creation would remain to change the experience of those who would come afterwards.

After all, who wouldn't notice the pink furry penguin?

Last but not least, an experience in evolution and competition. Ecological Pool by Dimension +:

Two Aorus AI PCs feeding each other information so as to create a being and see it engage with its environment.

More an experience in observation than interaction, but one that had very dark visuals and at the same time emulated the very nature that allows us all to be here to experience it.  

This collaborative AI experience utilized two Aorus AI PCs feeding each-other, competing, creating a creature that would be able to survive, or perhaps thrive in its environment. And then another. And another. Each in turn better suited and more successful than the previous one. This evoked the rawness of natural selection and the struggle for survival as the creatures within the AI-generated environment adapted to their surroundings.

VS AI Street Fighting Arcade

The second part of the experience allowed us to take center stage and let AI serve as both the tool and the arbiter of a very human battle.

You could go head-to-head against another fellow human in this battle of wits.

The objective? Use midjourney to create an artistic result that closely matches the prompt given to you by AI. Sounds simple? Not so much, when the prompt looks something like "delicious music" or "beautiful laugher".

You had a time-limit, and would need to pick your favorite from all your creations (usually you had enough time for 8 to 12 different ones) then AI would decide which of the two competitors was more successful in creating an image that represented its given challenge.

Overall, a fun interactive experience that allowed you to use AORUS laptops to speedily create art with AI tools.

I don't think AI is quite ready for the role of referee, though, as I found myself many-a-time disagreeing with its judgement on who should win. Or maybe it is I who is wrong! I am only human, after all.

ai application in real life

The most obvious, and for our fellow enthusiasts of the PC Master Race, the most fascinating use of AI is for real-life applications. 

This area explored how AI can enhance everyday life in areas such as gaming, music, digital art and design, content creation, image processing and cleaning, programming, productivity, and... a bit of everything, really. 

This area was curated by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Hugh Hou, and it showcased  some of the the latest AI technology for professional workflow, art creation and immersive videos, showing off a bit of how it can be used as tool by creators to allow for more unrestricted content for their audiences. 

Almost an antithesis of the first part of the exhibit. Here we can see that imagination, with the aid of AI, is also art.

My favorite? Artistic creations that use your own likeness, captured by camera and rendered in real-time, according to whatever models and choices you have picked. A superhero version of you, perhaps.

Real time AI face-swap magic, running on Aorus 17X Laptops. It makes me look a lot more handsome.

Remember that this is all run locally, and for that you do need a beefy machine such as this one, but you completely avoid having to deal with cloud computing, the upload of personal information, and any recurring fees associated with that.

 Watch this real-time AI face-swap in action, it really is something!

The mix of AI and VR/AR was also present, and it allowed you to consider just what will be possible on the side of media consumption in the next few years with all this AI stuff. If used properly, it can yield some very immersive experiences.

The exhibition also explored the intersection of AI with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Imagine being transported to a drone-like view of a city or monument and have real-time removal of elements that might reduce the immersive nature of the experience, like the actual drone that is capturing the footage. Just a small idea of what could be possible in the future when this kind of technology is applied to immersive viewing experiences.

Overall a really interesting and thought-provoking way to talk about AI, in a way that's a lot deeper than the mere usage of the term for anything and everything that you often see these days, on just about any tech-related product out there.

I am still a believer that AI and technology, in practice, can help us become more human, and to do so in many ways.

I think the Exhibit was successful in showing many of them. From being able to improve how an old family photo looks, to being able to Immerse yourself in footage of places you have never been to or to create something that expresses your individuality, in real-time, that you can tweak almost instantaneously.

There is no point in hiding from what is the new reality of technology.

Many thanks to Howard Chiu at Gigabyte for the invite to check the AI Exhibit out first hand!