Whether you eat to live or live to eat, food is an inseparable part of our lives, not only from a nutritional aspect but also from a social one. Sharing food is one of the oldest forms of gathering and community building. But how does the omnipresence of technology affect how we relate to food and, consequently, each other? A well-known saying among chefs is, “You eat with your eyes first,” meaning that the appearance of food is just, if not more, important than how it eventually tastes. The visual emphasis given to food is even more present through social media platforms that present highly aesthetic dishes to please followers rather than nourish our loved ones. How can we work together with technology to reclaim the communal aspect of food?

Be My Guest! by Anna Pompermaier and Cenk Güzelis explores the spatial, cultural, and social relationships of design, new media technologies and AI, through one of the most common and oldest gathering rituals in our everyday lives – a communal dinner. The host of this dinner? AI. This way, Be My Guest! allows for discussions on the growing socio-cultural role of AI-models and their integration as a new kind of social species in our everyday scenarios.

What happens to the human experience when AI becomes our dinner host, co-creator of the spatial experience and co-author of the menu? Check it our on 23 March for an AI-hosted meal at 14:00 or 19:00 at IMPAKT, Center for Media Art.