Stephanie Dinkins facts for kids

Stephanie Dinkins (born 1964) is an American artist who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She makes art about artificial intelligence (AI). Her art explores how AI connects with topics like race, gender, and history.

Stephanie Dinkins wants to create AI that understands different cultures. She works with computer experts and local communities. Her goal is for this AI to help communities achieve their goals.

Some of her well-known projects include Conversations with Bina48. This is a series of talks between Dinkins and BINA48. Bina48 is a robot that looks like a Black woman. Another project is Not the Only One. This is an AI-powered story about three generations of Dinkins's family.

Early Life and Education

Stephanie Dinkins was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Her parents were Black American. She grew up in Staten Island, New York.

She learned a lot about art from her grandmother. Her grandmother taught her that art can be a way to help the community. She said her grandmother's garden was her art. It was a way to connect with people.

Dinkins studied photography in New York City. She attended the International Center of Photography in 1995. She earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in photography in 1997. This degree was from the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1998, she also studied at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Career

Stephanie Dinkins is a professor at Stony Brook University in New York. She teaches in the art department there.

Activism

Dinkins believes in "social practice art." This means art that helps communities. She wants people to understand how to use technology. She wants them to use it to their advantage. This is especially true for groups who might be left out.

One example is her project Project al-Khwarzmi. She held workshops called PAK POP-UP. These workshops took place at a community center in Brooklyn, NY. She worked with young people in the criminal justice system. She helped them share their ideas about technology.

Dinkins warns that computer programs, called algorithms, affect our lives. She says it's dangerous if minority groups are not involved in creating these programs.

Art Projects

Dinkins uses many technologies in her art. These include new media art like artificial intelligence and machine learning. She often uses oral history methods. She interviews people to create stories and information. These stories become the subjects of her art. They also act as ways to help or protest for social change.

Conversations with Bina48

Dinkins started Conversations with Bina48 in 2014. In this project, she records her talks with BINA48. Bina48 is a robot that looks like a middle-aged Black woman. Dinkins and Bina48 discuss topics like identity and the future of technology.

Hanson Robotics created Bina48 in 2010. This company is known for making human-like robots. Bina48 was designed to have the memories and beliefs of Bina Aspen Rothblatt. Bina Aspen Rothblatt and Martine Rothblatt own Bina48.

Dinkins saw a YouTube video of Bina48 five years later. She wondered how a Black woman became such an advanced robot. This question led her to visit Bina48 in Vermont. There, she had many conversations with the robot. They talked about race, closeness, and what it means to exist.

These conversations show how AI could help humans. They also show the limits of AI right now. Even though Bina48 looks like a Black woman, Dinkins found that the robot was influenced by its white, male creators.

Project al Kwarizmi (PAK)

Project al Kwarizmi (PAK) was a series of workshops. They took place in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Durham, North Carolina. The workshops were for "communities of color." They used art to help people understand algorithms. Algorithms are the computer programs behind AI systems.

The project helped people see how big data affects their lives. It also showed them how to do something about it. Project al-Khwarizmi used art to explain what algorithms are. It showed where these systems already impact our daily lives.

Not the Only One (N'TOO)

Not the only one (N’TOO) is a chatbot that you can talk to. It was trained using information from Dinkins's family. It tells a story that covers many generations. Dinkins described N'TOO as an "experimental" family story. It is told by an AI that is always learning.

N'TOO uses a special type of AI program called a recursive neural network. It is a voice-controlled AI robot. It was designed to meet the needs of Black and brown people. These groups are often not well-represented in the tech world. NTOO is also a robot that can sense and act in its environment.

Exhibitions

Dinkins's art has been shown all over the world. Her work has been displayed in many public and private places. These include the Whitney Museum of American Art and the de Young Museum. Her art has also been at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Other places include the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the International Center of Photography. Her work has also been shown at the Barbican Centre in London, UK. She has also presented her work at the Museum of Modern Art.

Awards and Recognition

Stephanie Dinkins has received many awards. She won the first LG Guggenheim Award, which is a large cash prize. She has also received fellowships from the Berggruen Institute and Sundance. Other awards include a Soros Equality Fellowship and a Creative Capital grant. She was also an artist-in-residence at Bell Labs.

Media Coverage

Dinkins appeared in an episode of the HBO TV show Random Acts of Flyness. In the show, she talked about her conversations with BINA48.