AI (Artificial Islands)
2023
created in collaboration with Liber Research Community, 本土研究社 (Hong Kong)
AI (Artificial Islands) is a critical examination of artificiality, referencing both the mega reclamation project proposed by the Hong Kong government and the AI-powered image making tools that were used to visualize renderings of the islands.
The Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, part of the Lantau Tomorrow Vision reclamation plan, have been marketed as a utopian project that will simultaneously ignite economic prosperity, embrace environmental conservation, and support sustainable development. An achievable dream or merely a fleeting hallucination?
‘AI (Artificial Islands)’ is an exploration of what happens when you detach vision from context.
Looking through the eye of generative AI image software, the hypothetical islands begin to take shape, inviting the viewer to contemplate the implications of this monumental construction and their own desires for modernity. What symbols of progress will the algorithm reproduce when fed official descriptions of the project? What flaws will show through? And how are we ultimately able to navigate the surreal path laid before us without heading toward catastrophe?
All images were generated using prompts that consisted only of quotes from government officials regarding the project.
*September 2025 update: Lantau Tomorrow Vision has been indefinitely postponed.
