The Carry Root

The Carry Root project reconfigures human-machine interaction as a site for witnessing, memory, and care. By developing an AI-driven conversational agent informed by narratives of displacement, it foregrounds the ethical and affective dimensions of AI, interrogating its role in shaping collective memory.

This immersive installation features a communal place of rest and reflection. At its center is Carry – a custom AI “StoryCatcher” trained on conversations with those affected by forced migration and geographic displacement.

Carry’s architecture is built in Python, using natural language processing (NLP) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) techniques. Though, her substance originates from deeply embodied sources. Carry learns through conversations with core contributors and audiences, so she can model the type of interpersonal support we might expect from a close friend.

By combining advances in data science with socially engaged visual arts practices, Carry invites us to interrogate – and potentially even recalibrate – how we shape technologies of the future.