The founders said they hope DATALAND will serve not only as an exhibition space, but also as a platform to bring together artists, scientists, and engineers to explore the future of creativity in the AI era.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Tan Jingjing
LOS ANGELES, June 20 (Xinhua) — Upon entering Dataland, a new AI museum in downtown Los Angeles, visitors are immersed in a changing world of light, sound, and data, where the boundaries between observer and work of art begin to blur.
Billed as the world’s first AI art and digital ecosystem museum, the museum opens to the public on Saturday and offers an immersive experience that blends machine intelligence, data, and artistic expression.
Located in the Cultural District of Downtown LA, Dataland spans approximately 2,300 square meters and includes five galleries. It was founded by media artist Refik Anadolu and cultural researcher Efsun Erkilić.
Inside, the visitor becomes a participant in the work rather than an observer. Upon entry, they are given wearable sensors and guided through an environment where visual, auditory, and sensory elements continuously change depending on data streams and human presence.
The museum’s first exhibit, Machine Dreams: Rainforest, explores the relationship between AI and the natural world through immersive visuals, soundscapes, scents, and interactive technology.
The exhibit is powered by the Large Nature Model, an AI system developed by Refik Anadol Studio and trained on ecological datasets acquired through partnerships with scientific and cultural institutions and data collected directly from 16 rainforest environments around the world.
In one gallery, a rainforest-inspired soundscape fills the room while dynamic images of ecological patterns unfold on giant screens. This experience is designed to respond to visitor interactions in real time.
Anadolu describes DATALAND as a “living museum,” where works of art continually evolve through data, machine intelligence, and visitor interaction.
“A living museum, like life itself, is constantly changing,” Anadolu told Xinhua. “We wanted to create a place where art, architecture, science and technology come together.”
Visitors’ physiological signals, such as heart rate and skin responses, are captured through sensors. The information will be entered into a building-wide digital storage system known as the “Connectome,” allowing exhibits to continually evolve rather than being reset with each visit, the museum said.
The opening of Dataland comes as AI increasingly reshapes creative industries while fueling debate about whether it can ultimately replace human creativity.
Anadolu rejected the idea. “Humans will continue to be the creative force of life,” he said.
“This museum is fundamentally about human-machine collaboration,” he added. “Humans are at the heart of it all. AI is a collaborator, not a replacement.”
Anadolu said he hopes the museum will help people better understand AI and explore its potential.
Anadolu said the project has more than 10 million lines of code written and was developed over three years by a small team spanning art, science, and engineering.
The founders said they hope DATALAND will serve not only as an exhibition space, but also as a platform to bring together artists, scientists, and engineers to explore the future of creativity in the AI era.■
