From cars to computers, machines are an integral part of our lives. But as technology rapidly advances and artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more mainstream, it raises an important question: how will our relationship with machines evolve, and what will it look like in the decades to come?

The relationship between humans and machines is something artist Agnieszka Pilat explores in her work Heterobota. The futuristic, AI-enabled installation was created in collaboration with Boston Dynamics and commissioned for the National Gallery of Victoria’s current NGV Triennial exhibition, of which Mercedes-Benz is the proud Principal Partner.

Heterobota invites visitors into the home of Bunny Spot, Basia Spot and Omuzana Spot: three dog-like robots who prowl, play and even paint on the walls of their current home. As viewers capture the robots’ unpredictable moves on their smartphones or livestream the four-legged creatures painting the studio space, they can envision a future where machines have their own identities and creative pursuits.

It's also an apt work for NGV Triennial, perfectly encapsulating the theme of ‘magic’.

“Someone said that technology that we can't understand appears as magic,” Agnieszka says. “My team understands robotics quite well. But the technology is so sophisticated, that it seems like magic.”

For viewers watching the four-legged creatures move and play in unexpected and seemingly unscripted ways, the installation is truly spellbinding.

Augmenting reality

As technology sparks new forms of art, it’s also generating questions about creativity and authorship. For example, are the paintings in the installation the work of Bunny Spot, Basia Spot and Omuzana Spot, or are they purely the work of Agnieszka? Will a future race of robots look back at these paintings and see them as ancient relics of their ancestors? As humans grapple with the phenomenon of automated creativity, Heterobota inspires challenging philosophical conversations.

While some have concerns about the anti-social effects of technology and AI, Agnieszka takes a much more positive view.