Out the Other

​about. a metal sculpture that uses AI to transform visitors’ words into a self-empowering affirmation. This project was designed and led by Kate Greenberg. A team of 10+ volunteers made this piece possible, notably including interactive system engineering by Eric Vicenti with Cameron Tacklind, AI prompt Engineering by Deva Temple, lighting scene programming by Dietrich Dehlinger with assistance by Joss de la Broise, and 3D print production by Ahren Alexander.​

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Out the Other is an interactive sculpture created for and exhibited at the 2025 Burning Man event. Inspired by the emotional impact of what we receive from others, the piece focuses on the challenge of filtering out negativity to nurture a self-reliant inner voice. It probes how harmful interactions can lead to persistent, intrusive thoughts that are difficult to release, and explores the journey toward coping and healing attachment from within. This piece also reflects on the inner landscape of feminine empathy in response to the heaviness of the present world.

 

The exponential development of AI technology also influenced this piece to serve as an experiment for the artistic applications of AI beyond visual generation. Key questions included: What can interactive AI art feel like without screens and visible devices? How can we responsibly deploy AI as a tool, and what parameters do we need to build in to keep interactions positive and meaningful? And, what type of art interaction have we never had before?

 

The sculpture itself was constructed from steel rod, stainless steel mesh, reclaimed brass instruments, and 3D-printed components. The form depicts heartache and anxiety, highlighting how rejection and antagonism affect nervous system regulation. Our team developed an API that used LLM prompt engineering to generate the Out the Other persona and also self-assign lighting scenes based on its present emotions.

 

Visitors are invited to step onto the sculpture base and interact by speaking into its ears. The visitor's original words are reframed by the piece as positive affirmation directed toward self-soothing; Out the Other 'hears' the visitor and responds in its own voice. By internalizing whatever is said to it as its own experience, the sculpture then models self-affirming reframing inspired by reparenting strategies and shares its inner thoughts as it processes its feelings.  

 

We saw that visitors' interpretations of this piece were heavily driven by their personal experiences. Some saw themselves, someone they've hurt, or a friend in need. Many found her to be a warm vessel available to help hold whatever they carried to her that day.​