Local artist Nim Ben-Reuven has taken over the front window of 121 Norman Avenue in Greenpoint. He produced a whimsical but thought-provoking public art exhibit called Chat Haus. This creative installation is a temporary coworking space for AI chatbots, built entirely out of cardboard. Ben-Reuven started Chat Haus to process artistically the rapid development of technology. His attention, as you could imagine, went directly to the impact of AI on creative fields such as graphic design and videography.
The engaging installation includes a whole flock of cardboard cutouts—playfully referred to as “cardboard babies”—of the maternal figures going about different office-oriented duties. You can picture them furiously smashing away at their computer keyboards. They process real time phone calls and stop every few minutes to savor a steaming, invigorating cup of coffee. The exhibit is visually striking, showcasing the artist’s characteristic use of cardboard while invoking a sense of absurdity regarding the increasing prevalence of AI in the workplace.
Chat Haus is on view now as a temporary exhibit while the building waits for renovation permits. Ben-Reuven hopes to maintain the installation through mid-May for public viewing. He’s looking into the possibility of taking it to a bigger gallery space in the future.
Chat Haus adds a touch of whimsy with its sign offering coworking spaces for just $1,999/mo. They jokingly market it as “A luxury co-working space for chatbots.” This frisky pricing draws attention to the increasing eccentricity of the tech-savvy capitalist economy and at the same time provides criticism on the commodification of office space settings.
Ben-Reuven expressed his motivation behind creating Chat Haus, stating, “It was like an expression of frustration in humor, so I wouldn’t get too bitter about the industry changing so quickly and under my nose and not wanting to be a part of the shift.” Perhaps that’s why his artwork became a personal coping mechanism during this time of technological upheaval. More importantly, it lets him approach the problem creatively rather than in a state of defeat.
If AI is still in development and metamorphosis, Ben-Reuven’s installation is exactly focused in catching this transformation in a positive, humorous way. “I just thought it would be funny to express this idea of, like, a whole bunch of kind of cute, kind of creepy, baby robots typing away because of our ChatGPT prompts in some warehouse somewhere, working non-stop taking as much like electricity as Switzerland uses in a year,” he remarked.
The installation critiques the fragility of creativity. It draws a stark picture of the world we’re entering, one increasingly dominated by AI. Ben-Reuven likens the fragility of his cardboard structure to the evolving landscape of creative industries influenced by AI: “The impermanence of this cardboard stuff, and the ability for it to collapse under even just a little bit of weight, is how I feel that AI is interacting with the creative industries.”
Behind the humorous veneer, Ben-Reuven is acutely aware of the serious stakes involved with AI’s encroachment on creative industries. He stated, “I mean, AI, in terms of the creative world, seems like such a light thing compared to so many of the other, like war, things that are happening in the world and like the terror and the trauma that exists.” It’s through his imaginative work that he invites viewers to consider these larger, more existential questions and allows for a moment of humor and creativity.
Becca Szkutak, former senior writer at TechCrunch, talks about what sets Chat Haus apart. She highlights how it pushes forward critical conversations around AI’s societal implications. The exhibit goes beyond a traditional artwork. It comes to life as a series of public programs that continue the conversation about what the future looks like through both artistic and technological prisms.
