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The University of Applied Arts Vienna was established in response to the First Industrial Revolution, 150 years ago. Its founder, Rudolf von Eitelberger, envisioned the Angewandte as a place to “educate artists who can intervene in industry,” grounding industrial production in artistic practice. Today, this vision demands renewal in the face of a new challenge: the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by data and artificial intelligence. How can we develop and understand data-driven technologies, such as AI, “on the foundation of art”? This symposium explores data as something physical and tangible that can and should be manipulated. It examines the materiality of data and how it is embedded in artistic practices. Just as the Wiener Werkstätten sought to integrate art into everyday life by offering a functional alternative to industrial production, contemporary machine learning can benefit from artistic intervention. Making data and its models graspable opens them up to discussion. The symposium asks: How can we bridge arts, humanities, and technical sciences in understanding data models? What role can artistic practices play in addressing algorithmic bias, data representation, and machine learning ethics? How can we cultivate an artistic education that enables critical, democratic engagement with AI? What new ideas emerge when computational methods integrate knowledge from art and design? These questions align with the Angewandte's commitment to shaping digital transformation through artistic and critical knowledge, connecting to broader discussions around the cultural, social, and epistemological dimensions of AI and machine learning. Recognising AI as a cultural phenomenon that demands interpretation, critique, and imagination, rather than merely as a tool, speaks to the broader mission of developing transdisciplinary modes of learning in relation to the complexities of digital transformation.
