Whose AI?
For young artists ages 14-20 based in:
Los Angeles, CA
Fort Worth, TX
July 14-18, 2025
10am-12 pm PDT (LA) / 12 pm-2 pm CDT (Ft. Worth)
Online
Free
Join us for a 5-day ONLINE workshop for young artists (ages 14–20) who live in LA or Ft. Worth exploring AI chatbots and their impact on society.
A chatbot is a computer program you can talk to using text or voice. One of the first chatbots, Eliza (1960s), was designed to take on the role of a therapist. Today, we've got all kinds of chatbots like customer service bots, Alexa, Siri, ChatGPT, Meta AI, Google's Gemini, and more!
In this workshop led by artist Carrie Sijia Wang, learn about how text-based AI works, experiment with data, and build chatbots that reflect your thoughts and challenge how AI is usually used! These workshops aim to encourage participants to co-construct a clearer understanding of text-based AI, and empower them to engage in informed conversations around how AI technologies continue to take shape.
Day 01: What Are We Talking About When We Talk About AI?
Learn about the basics of text-based AI. Participate in an interactive activity to see what makes generative chatbots different from rule-based ones.
Day 02: Who Are You, Bot?
Make a rule-based chatbot that reflects on its own existence.
Day 03: Unproductive Chatbots
Create a chatbot that refuses to play by the rules. Maybe it’s a rebel against authority, or a poet that writes nonsense. What happens when your bot says no to productivity?
Day 04: An Experiment with Data
Customize an AI bot using the chat history we generate in the workshop as a dataset.
Day 05: Share One Thing
Share one thing you made in the workshops and reflect on what you have learned.
Tools: p5.js, p5.speech, RiveScript, OpenAI API
CoLab is CultureHub’s free one week art & technology program for young artists ages 14–20. This workshop is ONLINE and FREE to anyone interested in the arts and technology ages 14-20 who are based in Ft. Worth, Texas and Los Angeles, California. In order to participate, students should have a laptop (with both Zoom and the Chrome browser installed) and join from a quiet location where they can be ready to talk and participate in interactive activities (like their home). No previous experience necessary. Participants who complete the full program will receive a gift card stipend!
