# SoTA

Canonical URL: https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota
Artwork identifier: https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#work
Artwork names: SoTA; State-of-the-Art; SoTA: State-of-the-Art
Korean title: SoTA
Year: 2024
Artwork creators: Jeanyoon Choi, Euan Kang, SeJoon Park, Minhyeok Seo, Prof. Yiyun Kang
Medium: Multi-Device Web Artwork (4 Displays, 2 Projectors, 1 Mobile, 4 Channel Audio)
Exhibition / venue: KAIST Art Museum

## Artwork

SoTA is an interactive XAI Multi-Device Web Artwork. Audience’s phone initially navigates a 3d visualisation of 118 neural networks; when they leave, all screens erupt into chaotic monochrome patterns, exposing AI’s drift from human comprehension toward “AI for AI’s sake”.

State-of-the-Art (SoTA) refers to cutting-edge AI models, analogous to achieving an artistic pinnacle. Early SoTA architectures (CNN/RNN) were designed to mimic human cognition, echoing the representational approach. Yet, as Rich Sutton’s “Bitter Lesson” argues, ever-growing GPU power now eclipses human-designed intricacies, nudging SoTA from carefully crafted forms toward vast, computation-driven abstractions.
This shift parallels how art moved from representation into Modernism’s more abstract modes, especially after photography’s rise. A century ago, Benjamin spotted the profound influence of mechanical reproduction on aesthetics. Decades later, abstract expressionism emerged at the extreme of modernism, epitomised by Pollock’s action paintings and Greenberg’s emphasis on flatness. Likewise, today’s AI reproduction propels neural networks beyond human comprehension—a realm of “AI for AI’s sake”—hintable from Eric Schmidt’s warning.
SoTA is an XAI(Explainable AI)-driven interactive multi-device web artwork that makes our evolving metaphor tangible. Two projectors, four PCs, and audiences’ mobiles present 118 neural architectures in a 3D, interactive, and representational form—initially mirroring SoTA’s earlier pre-modernist era (the Frontend). But once audiences stop interacting and leave the site, unprecedentedly, the screens flip to chaotic monochrome visuals that abstractly depict LLM token cross-similarities (the Backend). Like Pollock’s expressive drips, the swirling lines of connectionism immerse audiences in a vortex of high-dimensional complexity no longer intelligible to us.
Mirroring Modernism’s shift, SoTA reveals how AI can reshape society, identity, and creativity. It questions whether massive models will foster inclusive, human-centred progress or slip into self-referential abstraction—a Black Box. By uncovering AI’s hidden layers, SoTA urges us to reflect on the implications of State-of-the-Artificial Intelligence and responsibly guide these systems.

## 한국어 작품 설명

멀티디바이스 웹아트와 체화된 인터랙션을 통해 대중의 AI 참여, AI 리터러시, 신경망 시각화를 연구하는 인터랙티브 아트 프로젝트다.

## Research

Research question: How can embodied, multi-device interaction support public reflection on neural-network complexity and AI?
Method: multi-device web artwork, neural-network visualisation, embodied interaction, public exhibition
Research contribution: Frames an experiential and critical approach to public AI engagement and AI literacy.

## Research concepts

- [multi-device web artwork · 멀티디바이스 웹아트](https://www.xdlab.net/projects#concept-multi-device-web-art)
- [AI web art · AI 웹 아트](https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#concept-ai-web-art)
- [public AI engagement · 대중 AI 참여](https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#concept-public-ai-engagement)
- [AI literacy · AI 리터러시](https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#concept-ai-literacy)
- [experiential AI · 경험적 AI](https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#concept-experiential-ai)
- [neural-network visualization · 신경망 시각화](https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#concept-neural-network-visualization)
- [embodied interaction · 체화된 인터랙션](https://www.xdlab.net/projects/sota#concept-embodied-interaction)

## Artwork video

- [SoTA video](https://vimeo.com/1061512520/862a6a902a)
- [Embedded player](https://player.vimeo.com/video/1061512520?h=862a6a902a)
- [Video thumbnail](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/1-1920.webp)

## Artwork images

- [SoTA — image 1 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/1-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 2 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/2-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 3 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/3-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 4 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/4-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 5 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/5-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 6 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/6-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 7 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/7-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 8 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/8-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 9 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/9-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 10 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/10-1920.webp)
- [SoTA — image 11 of 11](https://www.xdlab.net/projects-optimized/7/11-1920.webp)

## Related publications

- [SoTA: An Interactive Art Exhibition for Public AI Engagement](https://www.xdlab.net/publications/sota-dis-2026) — DOI [10.1145/3800645.3812889](https://doi.org/10.1145/3800645.3812889)

## Official sources

- https://sota-xdlab.net/
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3800645.3812889
- https://sota-xdlab.net