From hand-drawn QR codes that may or may not actually work to an A.I.-assisted coffee-ground reading, a new exhibition at MASS MoCA explores our increasingly constant relationship with technology and artificial intelligence. “Technologies of Relation” also points to unexpected connections, offering fresh ways to think about science and the devices tied to it.
Curator Susan Cross said the exhibition is not designed to dwell only on technology’s dangers. “We’re not just focusing on the dark side of technology,” she told me. “It’s acknowledging that, but also saying: ‘Moving forward, how can we change it? How can we have agency over it and feel more familiar with it?’”
That perspective shapes a show that looks beyond alarm and instead asks how people might engage with these tools more consciously. By pairing works that are playful, speculative, and reflective, “Technologies of Relation” encourages viewers to consider what it means to live alongside systems that are becoming more embedded in daily life. The exhibition suggests that curiosity and agency can coexist with caution.
At MASS MoCA, the result is an exhibition that treats technology not as something separate from human experience, but as part of it. Its varied works invite viewers to rethink their assumptions about artificial intelligence, scientific systems, and the objects that mediate modern life. In doing so, the show opens a conversation about how familiarity, responsibility, and imagination might shape our shared future with technology.
