AI to create poetry for UK pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai

Creative developers behind the project say it uses technology that promotes ‘storydoing’ rather than ‘storytelling’

The UK Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai was built by McLaren Construction and designed by British artist and designer Es Devlin. UK

Poetry is often seen as one of the most personal and incisive forms of written creative expression. Later this year, however, thousands of people visiting the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will read poems generated entirely by artificial intelligence.

The creative developers behind the project say it is a way of using technology that promotes “storydoing” rather than “storytelling”, and builds on word contributions from visitors.

"We were more interested in the people and the visitors actually making a difference; changing, participating and contributing to the actual experience," said Steve Austen-Brown from Avantgarde, which is developing the concept conceived by artist and designer Es Devlin.

The creative director said the starting point of the project was inspired by Stephen Hawking’s “Breakthrough Message”, which invited people to consider what their message to other civilisations about humanity and planet Earth would be.

Speaking on a panel at CogX to discuss the potential role of AI technologies on the creative process, Austen-Brown said he saw it as a new "collaborator".

“That’s the AI that excites me but of course with every excitement comes an ethical question.”

The growth of AI in the creative space has prompted some in the sector to raise concerns over the potential loss of authenticity, personality and inimitability in art. But creative-tech advocates see new digital tools as the next generation colour brushes, palettes and keyboards.

Judith Palmer from The Poetry Society, a partner on the project, confessed that some of the poets she asked to write examples for the algorithm to learn from had said no, fearing the takeover of creativity by robots.

“It won’t replace poetry written by humans but it is useful and engaging and might even help teach poetry,” said Ms Palmer, at the CogX panel in London.

Calling it a “new writing student”, Ms Palmer likened AI’s creation of seemingly random poetry to Dadaist poetry, an anti-bourgeois literary methodology from early 20th century Europe that built verse from random words spoken by several people, or taken from newspaper cut-outs.

Ms Palmer doesn’t see the technology replacing human poetry, viewing AI instead as a “new student” to teach.

“The success is that it does make sense but it is still learning,” she said.

She said future projects could include an “engaging conversation” between human and AI-generated poetry.

After being delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai will now take place from October this year to March 2022.