Memo Akten & Katie Hofstadter are Southern California based interdisciplinary artists, researchers, and collaborators.
Memo Akten and Katie Hofstadter work as collaborators, and what interested me most about their practice is how evenly their ideas feel balanced between technology and emotion. Neither of them treats AI or data as something cold or purely technical. Instead, their work feels thoughtful and emotional.
One of the projects they discussed was Superradiance, which looks at the relationship between artificial intelligence, human emotion, and natural systems. The work suggests that humans, machines, and the environment are constantly influencing one another, emotionally and energetically. The visuals shift like living organisms, forming clouds and natural shapes that never fully settle.
What stood out to me was how intentional their workflow is. They don’t rely on AI as a single step or final layer. Instead, they build complex pipelines using real-time simulation tools, motion data, and layered rendering systems, then allow AI to reinterpret those elements. Katie’s background in choreography and performance brings a strong sense of physicality, while Memo’s research-driven approach grounds everything in structure and experimentation.
What I took away from their talk is that data and AI don’t have to be neutral or emotionless. In their hands, data becomes expressive, almost like a language for feelings, memory, and connection. Seeing how seriously they approach both the philosophical and technical sides of the work made me rethink how I want to use technology in my own projects.