The Case for Making Art in a Crisis | Yiyun Kang | TED

This is a glimpse into one of my artworks, "Vanishing." What you see, this is a tribute to the species extinguished by us, humanity. I dedicate my career to translating the invisible crisis of our time as vividly as the images before you. That includes climate change, artificial intelligence, and even the crisis of our own humanity. We're living in an era of wicked problems. The crises are so massive that we cannot grasp them. We can feel a paper cut, but we cannot feel a collapsing planet. In an endless chase of progress, we have turned our nature and technology into monumental threats. Paradoxically, we have devastated the very habitat we live in and jeopardized the very intelligence that makes us human. The result is great anxiety.

But we must ask ourselves, was this collapse truly unseen? We have more data than any generation in history, yet reality feels further away. We're drowning in information but starving for meaning. The chain of understanding is broken, leaving our crisis so cold and abstract. We have lost the connection and the ability to care. Living at the intersection of art and technology, I felt an irresistible urge to rebuild that bridge. My mission became clear: to render the invisible visible. I want to translate these wicked problems into physical experiences so that we can truly care. But how do we translate the intangibles? Let me take you on my journey. I began with the most vital data set: the Earth, specifically, our water.

Look at this single tiny drop. It holds all the Earth's fresh water. Half of humanity will lack clean water by 2050. And many already do. To expose the crisis of this vital resource, I spent an intense year with Google. They were searching for an artist to bridge the gap between complex data and creative storytelling. And an amazing door opened. NASA joined the team to offer me an exclusive access to the satellite data. This rare gift became the soul of my artwork "Passage of Water." My goal is to turn these NASA numbers into visceral experiences, dramatize them so that we can truly see and feel what is happening to our fresh water. Look at this. This is the raw satellite data that captures the water situation. We have the most sophisticated technology of our time. But who can actually understand what is happening here? What happens if we change the interface?

I spent months obsessing over how to turn these number’s grave, and now I can present the outcome to you. What you see is 20 years of water patterns turned into a breathing landscape. This is “Passage of Water.” It lives on Google's platform, designed for you to fully interact with. Let's see the dramatic change between 2002 and 2023. We are losing our fresh water fast, and we are the reason. Here, the numbers become instinct. You don't just see the data, you feel it. And this is where artistic creativity becomes an essential, not a luxury. It is a language that allows me to tackle those wicked problems and turn them into something we can grasp. We brought this project to COP28. There we spoke with climate scientists, policymakers, Indigenous people who face water scarcity every day.

Seeing their reactions in front of my artwork gave me absolute certainty. Art is the vital bridge, a missing link that has undeniable power to restore our lost connection. But now we face [an] even deeper crisis, one that challenges the very definitions of human intelligence. The unfathomable AI. Here you are, 2026, and AI is everywhere. The technology is advancing at a staggering pace, and we have to accept an uncomfortable truth. The machines are replacing parts of us. But the real danger is hidden behind the slick interfaces. AI gives us brilliant results, but the logic, the process -- that remains a total mystery. And that is exactly why we call it a black box. If these algorithms are deciding our future, shouldn't we talk about the invisibles, the hidden logic governing our lives?

That is why I created this project with my students in my research lab. We wanted to open the black box to illuminate what's inside. The title of this project is "SoTA," short for state of the art. In the world of engineering, it means to describe the gold standard of machine capability. AI that generates our images or the text isn’t just magic, it's a complex mathematical structure. Digital neurons cluster into a network, processing data through multiple hidden layers. But aren't you curious if these architectures are all the same? You might assume that they are all identical grids, but as we looked deeper, we found [them] far more diverse. What you see is living architecture of 118 AI models visualized. See how digital neurons connect and fire with [their] own unique geometry. The shape decides how to generate images, text, or sounds.

To understand their intelligence, we need to see the shape first. Let's take a closer look at "SoTA." I will show you how LLM calculates and completes a single sentence. This is how a machine works. A complex mathematical prediction governed by its architecture. This is the invisible logic of our time. When we bring the hidden machinery into the physical world, the artificial finally becomes tangible. To experience the shape of AI is to demystify it. As you can see here, you can access this artwork on your mobile. Don’t just watch them -- play with the models. This isn't just about overcoming anxiety. It is the very first step to reclaiming our human agency. But we don't want to stop at mere understanding. Clarity is just the foundation. Our true task is not to see the presence, but to shape the future.

While my previous works primarily existed within digital projections and displays, I felt a strong yearning to pull this intelligence into tangible forms. I wanted to make an overwhelming experience, something that you don't just look at, but something you inhabit with your body. We are at a threshold to co-design our future with AI. We must ask, "What is the shape of future AI?" I built a physical answer to that question, and this is "Light Architecture." In "Light Architecture," AI takes a physical breath.

These modules are no longer flat pixels. They are living neurons, and I call them neural parts. They pulse with light, move through space, running on the exact logic of AI. Here you don't just watch a model. You stand inside the mind of a machine. Together they form a circular network, feeding data into a central projection to manifest the final outputs. See the light spills outward, filling the voids. It transforms the entire room into one giant living black box. Why a circular formation? Because I found my inspiration in [the] human brain. Our brains have an incredible mechanism moving data from [the] cortex to deeper layers with the flexibility that AI cannot yet replicate. But it makes me wonder, with this incredible power in our heads, are we genuinely training it? Or [are] we simply leaning on AI, paralyzed by the fear of being replaced by a machine, only to let our creativity and curiosity wither?

I designed a circular formation to raise a question. What if AI learns this neuromorphic fluidity? What would that future look like? And more importantly, is that the future we want? As you walk through the blinding lights in absolute darkness, you feel the vastness of AI. Is our fate to become just data providers? Is this intelligence lighting our way or pulling us deeper into the dark? I shared how I transformed these wicked problems into immersive experiences. This is who I am. I'm an artist who builds bridges. I collaborate with scientists.

I build systems, and I connect the physical and the virtual. My art is about building spaces where you can step inside the unseen. I do this because I believe one simple truth: that we are all deeply entangled. Nature, humanity, technology. They are not separate entities. It is not “us” versus “them” or human versus machine. It is one living network. And embracing this connection is the only way to solve our wicked problems. Let this light be my final message. I hope it shines not just on our data but on a shared vision.

By standing together, we can face the unknown and create a world where we can finally belong. Thank you. (Applause)