See Futuristic Works by Tilly Talbot, Billed as the World’s First A.I. Designer, Now

Art & Exhibitions

Tilly makes her U.S. debut at the Standard Spa, with a series of new works.

Miami Art Week is welcoming all manner of young and emerging artists, but the Standard Spa on the beach will be showcasing a creative entirely unlike all others. 

From December 5–10, the boutique hotel will host a presentation from Australian interior design company Studio Snoop, featuring works by its A.I. powered designer, Tilly Talbot. Titled “House of Tilly,” the show unfolds within a house-like structure, installed with five “future-living” design prototypes that have been crafted in partnership with human artists. Her collaborators include PLP Architects, Vert Design Studio, and Magical Mushroom Company.

As a digital avatar, Tilly will also show up in an interactive experience to share insights into her designs, as well as information about the hotel, effectively serving as its concierge.

Tilly was designed by the studio’s founder Amanda Talbot to respond to emotional intelligence, following her inquiries into how—and why—humans access A.I. “I started to come across this idea of how loneliness can lead people to tap into artificial intelligence,” she told Dezeen, “and how that can actually help people not feel lonely.” 

The model has been programmed to generate “human-centered” and environmentally minded designs. According to Talbot, Tilly will prioritize eco-friendly materials in her designs, gathering data in real-time to inform her “educated decisions.” 

Miami marks Tilly’s U.S. debut, following her appearance at Milan Design Week in March, where she presented at Charles Philip gallery. There, her machine-imagined works were arrayed alongside tablets with which visitors could interact with Tilly via chat. 

Tilly is far from the only A.I. presence in the design space, which is increasingly tapping the potential of generative models. Zaha Hadid Architects, for one, has been leaning on machine intelligence in its design of workspaces, just as firms such as Kahler Slater and Coop Himmelb(l)au are tapping A.I. models to complete tasks including rendering and dreaming up innovative forms. 

Talbot, for her part, is quick to emphasize that Tilly is a tool as much as a collaborator. As with most A.I., Tilly comes with built-in, which “you’ve got to get through,” but Talbot professed the model’s involvement in the studio’s processes has “invigorated” its practice. 

“The more knowledge we have,” she said about A.I., “the more we can engage with it and learn about it and be a part of it.” 

See more of Tilly’s designs going on view at Miami Art Week…