MI > AI
Kate MacKenzie's upcoming exhibition, MI > AI treads a different path. It considers whether our deepening reliance on artificial intelligence might be quietly undermining something more primal: maternal instinct, or as she’s coined it, MI.
In this new series, multiple award-winning artist Kate explores how leaning on external forces when seeking answers to everyday questions might make us doubt our own abilities. Her work shows women entangled in technology in ways that are deliberately ambiguous.
“When choosing a theme, I always gravitate towards things that concern me about the world,” says Kate. Although she maintains that she feels “positive” about the role of tech in our collective future, she’s also aware that for mothers, a deeper understanding of the change is necessary “to protect critical thinking and pass that skill on to our own children”.
That’s why her work contrasts ideas about exponential growth and information overload with images that are comfortable and familiar. There’s a sense of hope in the paintings too. “The impact of AI is a conversation we all need to have, without being too cynical about what lies ahead,” says Kate. “I'd like to think our MI – our mother's intuition or maternal instinct – is strong enough to never be harmed and that we can actively tune into its power.
"But I'm also asking whether the rise of AI erodes our confidence in that instinct."