Chatbot

"In the Autumn of 2023 I began a creative residency with Birmingham University's SMQB group. I was attached to a group researching whether chatbots can be used to improve outcomes for patients with epilepsy. Art and poems from the residency became an exhibition and drama, raising awareness about the experiences of people living with epilepsy. Then I took a dive into the world of Chatbots, had a hilarious and frustrating conversation with Chat GPT and wrote this short series of poems."Andrea Mbarushimana, 2024"Starting with the vulnerability of people with epilepsy, these poems explore the dangerous absences and confusions of communication that can occur when chatbots and algorithms take over from more human responses. Angry, tender, investigative and fully alive to the precarious sensitivities of the vulnerable, Andrea lays bare the unhuman/inhuman/ thoughtless processes of language created by A.I. But the poems also (wisely) reflect on the powerlessness of any kind of language to remedy or allay certain human conditions.The rigours of the poems are counterpointed by artworks that are intricate, beautiful and raw.Once again Andrea Mbarushimana's rich, imaginative eye looks with care and compassion at our world."Matt Black, Poet