Diffusion TV
Date: May 2025
Categories: AI Art, Audiovisual Installation, Generative
Categories: AI Art, Audiovisual Installation, Generative
Diffusion TV is an experimental and interactive interface that invites audiences to explore the hidden processes of AI through a nostalgic CRT TV interface, allowing them to engage directly with diffusion models, the technology behind today’s most sophisticated AI-generated images and sounds.
Inspired by Nam June Paik’s Egg Grows (1984–1989), which depicts the illusion of an egg growing through a series of progressively larger CRT TVs, Diffusion TV uses the old CRT TV to reveal the hidden process of AI denoising, transforming the complexity of AI diffusion models into a tangible, interactive experience. The work allows viewers to directly engage with the transformative process of turning chaotic data into recognizable images and sounds by adjusting the TV’s antenna and knobs, fostering a deeper connection between human interaction and technological transformation.
By turning the knob, viewers can switch between three channels: Past, Present, and Future. The Past channel focuses on extinct animals to reflect on what has already disappeared, evoking a sense of loss and remembrance. The Present highlights the fragility of endangered species, offering a moment of reflection on the current environmental crisis. The Future channel displays speculative animals imagined with AI, encouraging contemplation about where humanity and technology are headed. Each channel presents audiovisual content generated by AI models such as Stable Diffusion XL and Stable Audio Open, dynamically adapting to the viewer’s adjustments.
By adjusting the antenna, the audience gradually brings the animals into clearer focus, metaphorically remembering, preserving, or exploring their existence. Once the clearest image and sound of an animal are revealed, the process resets after a few seconds, returning to a noisy and unclear depiction of another animal, keeping the experience dynamic and ever-evolving. Like television programming, Diffusion TV continuously renews its content by regenerating the images and sounds of the animals at regular intervals.
Diffusion TV explores how technology can shape our understanding of the natural world. Using the CRT TV, once an emblem of cutting-edge innovation but now a metaphor for obsolescence, the work mirrors the fragility of endangered species and asks what is preserved and what is lost in the pursuit of technological advancement. Through a more experiential, interactive understanding of AI’s inner workings, Diffusion TV encourages audiences to contemplate the interconnected relationships between humanity, technology, and nature.
This project was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Connected Minds Program, supported by Canada First Research Excellence Fund, Grant #CFREF-2022-00010.
Diffusion TV at ISEA 2025, Hangaram Design Museum, Seoul, Korea
Diffusion TV was exhibited at ISEA 2025 as one of 39 juried artworks selected from 355 submissions.
Related Exhibitions
Jun 2025, “Diffusion TV” at the IEEE/CVF Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference (CVPR) AI Art Gallery 2025 (On-site display and online)
May 2025, “Diffusion TV” at the International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art (ISEA) 2025, Hangaram Design Museum, Seoul, Korea