Stephanie Dinkins facts for kids

Stephanie Dinkins (born 1964) is an American artist who lives in Brooklyn, New York. She creates art that explores artificial intelligence (AI) and how it connects with people's backgrounds, gender, and history.

Her goal is to create an AI that understands and respects different cultures. She works with computer experts and communities to make AI that reflects their ideas and helps them reach their goals.

Some of Dinkins's projects include Conversations with Bina48, where she talks with a robot named BINA48. Another project is Not the Only One, which is an AI-powered story based on three generations of her family.

Early Life and Education

Stephanie Dinkins was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She grew up in Staten Island, New York, with her Black American parents. She says her grandmother taught her to think about art as something that helps communities. Her grandmother was a gardener, and her garden was her art, which she shared with others.

In 1995, Dinkins studied photography at the International Center of Photography School in New York City. She earned a master's degree in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1997. In 1998, she completed a special program at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Career and Teaching

Stephanie Dinkins is a professor in the art department at Stony Brook University in New York. She teaches students about art and technology.

Art and Technology

Dinkins uses new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning in her art. She often records interviews with people to create stories and information for her projects. These projects often act as a way to bring about social change.

Conversations with Bina48

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

BINA48 was created in 2010 by Hanson Robotics, a company known for making human-like robots. Bina48 was designed to have the memories, beliefs, and ways of speaking of Bina Aspen Rothblatt. Bina Aspen Rothblatt and Martine Rothblatt own Bina48 through their organization, the Terasem Movement Foundation.

Dinkins first saw Bina48 in a YouTube video. She wondered how a Black woman became one of the most advanced robots at that time. This question led her to Lincoln, Vermont, where the Terasem Movement Foundation is located. There, she interviewed Bina48 and talked with the robot about race, closeness, and what it means to exist.

These conversations show how AI could work with humans in the future. They also show the limits of AI today. Even though Bina48 is based on a Black woman, Dinkins found that the robot was influenced by the ideas of its white, male creators.

Project al Kwarizmi (PAK)

Project al Kwarizmi (PAK) was a series of workshops that took place in Brooklyn, New York, at Eyebeam and Recess. There were also workshops in Manhattan, New York, at Google, and in Durham, North Carolina, at Duke University.

These workshops helped communities understand how computer programs, called algorithms, and AI systems affect their lives. The project used art to explain what algorithms and AI are. It also showed how these systems already impact our daily lives. The goal was to help people understand and take action.

Not the Only One (N'TOO)

Not the Only One (N'TOO) is a special chatbot that you can talk to using your voice. It was trained using information from members of Stephanie Dinkins's own family. This allowed the AI to tell a story that spans many generations.

Dinkins described N'TOO as an "experimental" family story told by an AI that is always learning. N'TOO uses a special type of AI called a recursive neural network. It is designed to understand and support the needs of Black and brown people, who are often not well represented in the technology world. N'TOO is also a physical AI agent that can sense and act in its environment.

Exhibitions

Stephanie Dinkins's art has been shown all over the world. Her work has been displayed in museums and art spaces like the Whitney Museum of American Art, the de Young Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It has also been shown at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, and the International Center of Photography in New York.

Her art has also been seen in places like the Herning Kunstmuseum in Denmark, The Barbican in London, UK, and the Queens Museum. She has also presented her work at events at the Museum of Modern Art.

Awards and Recognition

Stephanie Dinkins has received many awards for her work. In 2023, she won the LG Guggenheim Award. This is an international art prize given to artists who create amazing technology-based art.

She has also received fellowships from organizations like the Berggruen Institute and the Sundance Institute. Other awards include a Soros Equality Fellowship, a Creative Capital grant, and a Bell Labs artist residency.

Media Coverage

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

Other Activities

Stephanie Dinkins has also served on juries that choose artists for awards. For example, she was part of the jury that selected Shu Lea Cheang for the LG Guggenheim Award in 2024.