crafting narratives

The objectives centered around exploring the role of tangible objects as experimental interfaces for AI-driven image generation. The goal was to showcase the potential of a technology-driven approach to transforming how stories are created, shared, and experienced.

In today’s digital landscape where artificial intelligence (AI), digital systems and physical spaces increasingly converge, this research project investigates the potential of real-time generative storytelling through tangible interfaces as an engaging tool for Human-AI interaction. The project’s outcome is an interactive installation that engages the Gond Tribe’s Creation Myth as an interactive storytelling experience. It not only reimagines storytelling in public spaces through tangible AI but also situates it within the broader context of migration and cultural exchange, highlighting how urbanization transforms oral traditions into dynamic, participatory experiences. By integrating spatial computing, human-computer interaction (HCI), and generative AI, the installation adopts an unconventional approach to developing a three-dimensional interaction system that blends the physical and digital worlds, offering both a critique of current practices and proposes a new model for engaging with cultural heritage in the urban environment.
 
The Gond creation myth provides a symbolic framework for exploring the cultural identity within the context of this research. The creation myth narrative emerges as a powerful metaphor that blurs the conventional boundaries. This exploration not only sheds light on the dynamic interplay between human agency and artificial intelligence but also emphasizes the fluid nature of storytelling traditions, wherein multiple versions coexist and evolve over time. Engaging ancient myths through a material interface embedded within the space allows visitors to investigate the tools, story, and visuals across typical notions of time. 

This research is organized around three key themes: Tangible objects as interfaces with a specific focus on tangibility, affordance and interactivity, Storytelling as a Medium (past, present and future ways of sharing stories) and Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) as a tool for co-creation and collaboration. The prototypes were developed over a period of 6 months; through the iterative process focused on exploring different mediums, materials and tools that demonstrate the potential of using tangible objects as interfaces to enhance Human - AI collaboration.
 
The creation myth narrative emerges as a powerful metaphor in the context of this installation blurring the conventional boundaries, prompting us to question: who truly is the creator? Is it the human user, wielding the generative AI model as a tool, or is it the AI model itself, with its intricate algorithms and capacity for autonomous generation? Moreover, the diverse outputs generated by each iteration underscore the universality of creation myths, revealing how these narratives manifest in varied forms across different cultural and contextual landscapes. This installation not only sheds light on the dynamic interplay between human agency and artificial intelligence but also emphasizes the fluid nature of storytelling traditions, wherein multiple versions coexist and evolve over time.This hands-on approach merging generative storytelling and physical-digital artefacts aspires to serve as a bridge between the apprehensions surrounding AI and its meaningful integration, shifting the discourse to informed curiosity.