Lawrence Lek

NOX

Lawrence Lek’s largest exhibition to date invites audiences to explore near-future scenarios shaped by the integration of artificial intelligence in urban life

NOX is a work of speculative fiction set in a smart city on the brink of conscious awakening. It takes the form of a game which merges a physical multi-floor installation with a virtual world and locative sound experience.

The project forms part of the artist’s ongoing series of games and films that explore the problems and promises of AI. Set during the aftermath of a roadside crash, it focuses on sentient self-driving cars that question their role in the wider networks of sensing and control. Human and non-human perspectives encountered throughout the exhibition prompt audiences to consider the reasons and implications of the cars’ decisions. Grounded in the history of conversations around AI psychology – from the Turing Test to chatbots – NOX shapes nuanced debates around agency, ethics, surveillance and empathy between human and non-human entities.

NOX expands Lek’s Sinofuturist cinematic universe, which includes the trilogy Sinofuturism (1839–2046 AD), Geomancer and AIDOL; his more recent SimBeijing series; and the open-world games 2065 and Nøtel (a collaboration with sound producer Kode9, with whom Lek is working for NOX’s soundtrack).