Caroline is a creative technologist who tells creative stories through the use of emerging technologies and is passionate about generative AI art. Her recent project, EnvisageKIT, utilizes artificial intelligence to make art therapy more accessible and inclusive for people with various neurodivergent conditions.

Can you tell me about your journey into AI art and how you got started?C: I have always been interested in new technology and worked in technical jobs in the entertainment industry. I was working for an event production agency in Mumbai, researching tools to use for experiential activations when I first came across GANs and started playing around with collab notebooks and continued experimenting when I joined Hotstar and later Disney Star. While it was a bit early stage to start using the tech commercially, I started using as part of my art practice as platforms like Artbreeder emerged which made things a lot easier than working directly with code (I am hopeless at coding!)

What is your favorite AI art project? C: If I am to talk about the work of other artists, Elsewhere in India is an amazing project by indofuturists Thiruda and Murthovic - it presents an alternative future and adventure led by a cultural cyborg called Meenakshi. The aesthetic and themes really resonate with my own values as an artist and personal philosophy, which is a somewhat utopian mindset around technology for good.There are also a few artists creating some mind blowing surrealist images and videos which are just fun and make my day every time they pop up in my Instagram - Niceaunties (surrealism X Kawaii), enjoykaos aka Jiminy Albion (monochrome and red tentacle horror plus gingers) and artificial.nightmares (does what it says on the tin!).
If I am to talk about my own work, ‘a machine gift of many masks’ was my first project with GANs - In this series, I explore the many masks we wear when we interface with others via the medium of technology. Each image is created from a single source self-portrait artwork, run through a generative adversarial network with different parameters changed, some intentionally, some randomised. 
The machine is responsible for if it comes out ugly, beautiful, angelic or demonic. Human control on the outcome is limited and the algorithms have taken charge - a reflection of the experience we all now have with our own image when we use computers and the internet, whether we realise it or not.
My most recent project EnvisageKIT is exploring using generative AI to democratise art therapy for neurodivergents and create a BCI (brain computer interface) software based on the same online platform, which one day I hope will be able to be used in a clinical setting. I am putting together a team of developers, therapists and interaction/UX designers and applying for funding.

What tools do you use for AI art? C: Stable Diffusion, Dall-E, Runway, Artbreeder, Move.ai, disco diffusion, Nightcafe - there are so many new ones and new features popping up all the time!

How do you balance the creative input between yourself and the AI in your art projects?C: I think it is really important to create with intention. While AI has caused controversy around authenticity in the art world, has huge issues related to privacy, copyright, misuse etc and flooded the internet with lots of cat based art, there is another side to the coin.
It can give a voice to those unheard, it can start important conversations and be a catalyst for creativity and change through the democratisation of the ability to create powerful and important imagery.
It is all too easy to get lost in the noise and sometimes that is fine, like there is nothing wrong with doodling absentmindedly and the world can never have enough cat art.
However when you create with intention, nothing anyone can say about AI can take away the authenticity of your work, the joy and healing gained from the process of creation, or how your work makes you and others feel.
As important as it is to understand WHY AI models generate the images they do and HOW we can improve them in terms of ethics as well as quality, it is equally import to ask the same questions of ourselves.

What challenges do you face in your day to day work? How do you overcome those challenges?C: Aside from the usual ADHD focus problems, my main challenge is communicating to people how to interact with me to get the best out of me and my work. In India where I live, there is not much education on neurodivergence in the workplace and I have had to fight to get workplace accommodations and fair treatment. When people think of autism, they generally think of extreme disability and don’t understand that you can be on the spectrum and it not be outwardly obvious, and not necessarily a negative thing. I try to be a champion of neurodivergence and highlight the superpowers that sit side by side with the challenges. I explain when people meet me that I have prosopagnosia and might not recognise them or remember their names in the future so not to be offended if this happens. I try to explain to my colleagues how to recognise if I am having a melt down moment and not to take it personally or as being unprofessional and to give me space and time to recover so that I can be the best I can be at my work. I feel neurodivergence is the final equality challenge in the workplace - we get training on how to interact with female colleagues, LGBTQ colleagues, how to handle mental health etc and what is acceptable and what is not - I want to see training in place that covers neurodivergence. Ultimately I accepted working in a big corporate is not for me and I am now an independent consultant and artist and much happier working in my own space and schedule and being more creative, productive and collaborative than I ever could be in an office environment.

What are your other hobbies?C: I love gardening, writing music, reading, swimming in the sea and spending time with my family and our numerous street-rescue pets.

What is your suggestion for families of children with disabilities to empower their children?C: Don’t be ashamed of anything. With every disability comes a superpower, waiting to be discovered or waiting to get recognition. I prefer the term ‘difference’ to disability - the language you use is everything and can have a huge effect on both internal and external perceptions.

What advice would you give to someone interested in exploring AI art creation?C: Just get online and do it! There are so many free tools and free trials of tools, videos and guides.