Algorithm and AI as a potential weapon for rebellion

The exhibition "Algorithm of Care" reflects on the relationship between technology, ethics and social responsibility, reminding us that care can be both a political value and a method of action, she said. Bojana Popadic, president of the NGO "ŠkArt", at the ceremonial opening of an interesting and multi-layered exhibition at the New Gallery of Visual Arts in Podgorica.

If we add to all this the factor of time, or the past, struggle, or activism, and emotions, or spiritual being, we arrive at the complete “Algorithm of Care” which was presented to the audience on Tuesday evening. The exhibition consists of works by several artists, created in different techniques, or technologies.

The carefully conceived exhibition shows that the past is not behind us, that artificial intelligence (AI) or programming code are not abstract, that the fight is not over or unnecessary, but that all of it lies within all of us and around us, in the systems we create, the language we use, the ways we live and the relationships we practice. The works that make up “The Algorithm of Care” are not isolated artistic responses to a given theme, personal statements, creative experiments..., but are primarily pieces of a puzzle or collage of a broader, multidimensional picture that shows us a society that is still learning how - how with itself, its own heritage and creations, in the present or tomorrow.

Instead of harsh criticism or, on the other hand, idealization and romanticization of the contemporary moment, technology and available tools and implements, the exhibition encourages open conversation, exchange of opinions, feelings, and asking questions. Thus, it acts as a kind of space close to the ancient agora, a political platform in the original meaning of the word that leads us to Aristotelove definitions of politics as a philosophy of human affairs and the skill of governing a polis (city, community, state). We arrive at the "art of governance", a kind of oxymoron, a combination of the incompatible, and in all of this, various other sectors are now involved, human, non-human or, indeed, superhuman...

Popadić stated at the opening that the exhibition was created as part of a regional initiative by the British Council and UK International Development, entitled "Shared Memories, Shared Future: Inclusive Memorialisation in the Western Balkans", which deals with the processes of dealing with the past. Based on this, she added, a call for artworks was created that would treat the chosen theme, but through feminist and cultural practices.

"The social position of women, queer people and other vulnerable and marginalized categories in contemporary Western Balkan societies is largely shaped by the legacy of post-conflict structures, which often silence or relativize violence, insufficiently recognize victims and contribute to the secondary stigmatization of survivors. In this sense, what we live today is not separate from the past, but represents its extended social and political consequence," she pointed out.

Popadić added that the "Algorithm of Care" has a special meaning for the team gathered at "škArt", because it comes in the year when they celebrate a decade of existence and work.

"During those 10 years, we have strived to use art as a space for co-creation and social transformation," she added, expressing gratitude to the British Council for its support, partners from the "November" gallery for their cooperation, as well as the New Gallery of Visual Arts, in whose space the exhibition was presented.

Exhibition curator and artistic director of the “November” gallery from Belgrade My David, she revealed that she had not previously dealt with the topic they had chosen and which is treated by "The Algorithm of Care". In this context, she said, it was interesting for her to think about artificial intelligence, which is constantly being talked about and treated from different positions - through daily advice with ChatGPT, which is sometimes seen as a new search engine, but also as a threat to jobs.

"But it seems to me that we don't yet see it as a potential weapon for rebellion. In talking to ChatGPT about this topic, I actually created the concept myself. Because what we rarely recognize, and especially men rarely recognize, is the fact that the algorithm is built according to a completely patriarchal key. If you think about it, that's completely normal and logical, because systems and algorithms pull existing data... Going deeper into this topic, various niches quickly and easily opened up, where action could actually be taken. It seemed to us that it was a great starting point for some artistic reflection, because, although the cliché that art will change the world is too strong, it really does change the world, by giving us a way and the opportunity to look at some things from a different and unusual angle, and thus we come to solutions that are original," explained David.

In her opening address, the Deputy Ambassador of Great Britain to Montenegro, Sarah Pilbeam (Sarah Pilbeam) expressed her pleasure in attending an exhibition that invites conversation about the past and speaks to how we choose to confront it.

“Confronting the past is never easy. It requires honesty, courage and a willingness to listen to different experiences and shape the way we move forward as communities. Art can support this process. It can open up questions that we avoid, it can showcase voices that have been ignored. When we talk about the past, we must also talk about what is often left out, and violence against women is part of that, because its consequences reach far beyond the moment of harm. If we are committed to honest dialogue, these stories must be included,” she said.

Pilbim assessed that “The Algorithm of Care” explores how care works after trauma, connects artistic practice with technology and ethics, asks questions about how digital tools can help us respond more responsibly and with more compassion, reminding us that care requires attention, respect and responsibility. She also emphasized that regional cooperation further strengthens the work on all of this, and that the partnership in organizing this event shows how cultural cooperation can build trust and understanding across borders.

"I hope this exhibition will stimulate conversations and renew commitment to care," said the Deputy Ambassador of Great Britain to Montenegro.

The following presented their works at the exhibition: Alma Gačanin, Ivana Smiljanić, Jana Jovašević, Marija Mitrović, Milica Živković, Milo Masoničić, Viktorija Zdravković, Sara Mladenović, Sinisa Ilic, Sofia Golitsyna, Srdja Dragović i Teodora Nikolic.

The opening of the exhibition was preceded by a lecture by the artist and activist Tanja Markus. In her lecture entitled "Dealing with the Past through Feminist Cultural Practices", she spoke about the role of feminist cultural initiatives and artistic practices in the processes of social dealing with the past, opening up issues of collective memory, responsibility, and the possibility of different narratives in contemporary culture.

The exhibition will be available in Podgorica until April 17th, and then it will travel to Serbia, where it will open at the "November" gallery in Belgrade on May 16th.

Responsibility of those who code, fund, implement and regulate systems

The care algorithm does not imagine a machine as salvation, emphasizes curator Mia David in her accompanying text, which visitors to the exhibition at the New Gallery of Visual Arts in Podgorica (Kralja Nikole 10, hotel building "Bojaturs") have the opportunity to see...

“He imagines it as a site of political intervention. The exhibition opens a space to show the tensions between code and culture. Between institutions and responsibility. Between what a machine can detect and what society chooses to ignore. Perhaps it can connect court rulings, police records and media discourses into a visible structure. Perhaps it can make systemic failures unavoidably obvious. Perhaps an algorithm can connect fragments. Perhaps it can make systemic cracks visible. But changing the paradigm, changing the culture that relativizes violence, is a collective task. This exhibition does not offer a technological solution. It raises the question of the responsibility of those who code, finance, implement and regulate systems. Perhaps a machine cannot be gentle. But it can be designed without cynicism. Perhaps it cannot love. But it can stop normalizing blindness. To change the code without changing the paradigm is only to adapt the symptom... To change the paradigm is to acknowledge that technology is also a political infrastructure. In a society where many women are murdered after multiple reports of violence, the question is no longer whether we have the data, but who is responsible when we ignore it. And perhaps that is precisely where the most dangerous part of this project: in the idea that the algorithm can show what the institutions would rather not see. Tenderness is likely to remain outside the machine. But the way we make it is never beyond politics. Perhaps it is precisely in this awareness that a different design begins. Not as a promise of salvation, but as a refusal to automate blindness," says David.

"Although the cliché that art will change the world is too strong, it really does change the world by giving us a way and opportunity to look at things from a different and unusual angle, thereby arriving at solutions that are original," explained David.