University of Glasgow Co-Curates International Exhibition Exploring Artificial Intelligence and the Question of Human Agency

O! They greet you vs, 2025. © Rachel Maclean. Courtesy of the artist. Photo Eoin Carey

(IN BRIEF) The University of Glasgow is involved in a major international art exhibition exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping contemporary life and raising new questions about agency in the digital age. The exhibition, AI and the Paradox of Agency, has opened at Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden and is co-curated by Professor Sarah Cook from the University of Glasgow and museum director Katarina Pierre. Bringing together works by leading international artists including Rachel Maclean, the exhibition features installations, AI-generated films and digital artworks that examine whether agency in AI-driven systems belongs to humans, machines or broader social forces. A notable feature of the exhibition is the online artwork Infinite Prayer for Peace by Canadian writer Stephen Marche, which uses machine learning to generate new prayers for peace every minute. The exhibition forms part of a broader research initiative at Umeå University exploring the social, ethical and cultural implications of AI technologies and runs until January 2027.

(PRESS RELEASE) GLASGOW, 14-Mar-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — University of Glasgow is playing a key role in a major international art exhibition examining the influence of artificial intelligence on contemporary society. The exhibition, titled AI and the Paradox of Agency, has opened at Bildmuseet and brings together leading international artists to explore how AI technologies are reshaping human experience and decision-making.

Stephen Marche, Infinite Prayer for Peace – Desktop, 2026. © Stephen Marche. Courtesy of the artist.

The exhibition features newly commissioned works alongside existing pieces by prominent artists, including Glasgow-based artist Rachel Maclean. Through installations, AI-generated films, digital artworks and experimental media, the exhibition examines a central question of the AI era: who or what ultimately holds agency when humans interact with intelligent systems?

The project is co-curated by Sarah Cook and Katarina Pierre. Their curatorial approach presents artworks across two floors of the museum, grouping them according to different interpretations of agency—whether it resides with humans, machines, society, the natural world or imagined more-than-human entities.

One of the exhibition’s distinctive features is a digital commission designed to engage audiences beyond the museum space. Created by Canadian writer and journalist Stephen Marche, the work Infinite Prayer for Peace is an AI-generated text installation that continuously produces new statements advocating peace. Using machine learning trained on prayers from multiple cultural and religious traditions, the artwork generates a new prayer every minute, offering an alternative perspective on how AI technologies might be used to promote peace rather than conflict.

The exhibition builds on Professor Cook’s research into how artistic practices can help society examine the ethical, political and cultural implications of emerging technologies. She noted that art can provide a unique space to reflect on complex issues such as surveillance, automated decision-making, drone technologies and the hidden infrastructures behind artificial intelligence systems.

According to Cook, while many discussions about AI in art focus on creativity or collaboration between humans and machines, the exhibition addresses the deeper issue of agency, which she describes as one of the most pressing challenges facing society as governments and institutions attempt to regulate AI technologies responsibly.

The exhibition also highlights Scottish artistic innovation through Rachel Maclean’s installation They’ve Eyes Your Got, which includes four sculptural works and AI-generated film excerpts from her wider project They’ve Got Your Eyes. The installation explores how style-transfer technologies allow artists to capture and reproduce their own creative style using AI systems. Through these works, Maclean examines the opportunities and anxieties surrounding new technologies and the myths that often accompany them.

Maclean’s work is presented alongside contributions from a wide range of international artists, including boredomresearch, Tega Brain, Linda Dounia Rebeiz, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and others whose work addresses different aspects of the relationship between art and artificial intelligence.

AI and the Paradox of Agency runs at Bildmuseet from 13 March 2026 until 17 January 2027. The exhibition forms part of a wider research initiative at Umeå University examining the relationship between art and artificial intelligence. The project takes inspiration from The AI Paradox, a concept developed by Virginia Dignum, and a related publication will be released during 2026.

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SOURCE: University of Glasgow