mind-meld

In psychological research, long-term couples have been shown to develop shared memory systems by pooling their cognitive resources [1,2]. This allows each partner to access more information with less cognitive effort, and is known by terms like "shared memory," "collective memory," "transactive memory systems," and "joint remembering" [3]. Couples can give each other personalized prompts to access memories [4], and their brain organization may even become more similar over time, as measured by functional magnetic imaging [5]. Interestingly, shared memory systems may also reduce the risk of age-related diseases like dementia [6].This work explores the concept of replacing the human partner in a shared memory system with an AI. The first component of the work, created with generative AI tools, explores one outcome of replacing the other human in a shared memory system with AI: over time, the AI system, represented as a UMAP of its embedding space (a dimensionality reduction and visualization method used for understanding relationships of an AI’s embedding space, akin to the human brain), becomes more alien. The human brain, represented by a neuron, becomes more AI-like, taking on the characteristics of the organization of the embedding space of the AI.The second component of the work, a series of acrylic paintings on canvas, explores another outcome, where the AI and human create a symbiotic relationship, one where the AI embedding space becomes organized in a more human way and the human is able to combat neuronal aging through the shared memory system with the AI.Together, these two pieces represent the uncertain future of human-AI integration and how it may fundamentally change the way we think and remember. The juxtaposition of generative AI and human- created paintings reflects this tension between the promise and peril of developing relationships and collaborations with artificial intelligence.