Why do quotes and aphorisms have such a strong effect on us? And how do we deal with their messages when they come not from a person but from a machine?

The work Appropriate Response by Mario Klingemann consists of a split-flap display, as we know it from train stations and airports and with which we associate “waiting” – for the next display, for the departure time – or here for a message generated by artificial intelligence. The display has 120 letter fields, which are connected to a motor and controlled by the GPT-2 neural network. Klingemann thus poses the question: How much meaning can be generated from 120 characters?

For the artist, words are the most powerful weapon available to people in this world. Words can move mountains and change lives. That is why he has trained the neural network behind his work with 60,000 quotations and aphorisms from various sources. The machine knows how language and semantics work. That’s why it produces something that looks like a quote that a human might have said.

To receive a personal message from the AI, kneel on the kneeler in front of it. Are we kneeling here in front of the AI or a higher being? The kneeling gesture has a religious connotation, as it associates the balancing act between hope and fear. The message that then appears on the screen is individual to each viewer. Everyone can decide for themselves what to do with it and what meaning it has for them personally.