Nozomu Kubota: Inside Dementia

Nozomu Kubota is active across multiple fields as an entrepreneur, AI developer, inventor, YouTuber, and visual artist. As a visual artist, he has created works that probe the biases and bugs inherent in AI, as well as the underlying structures of the internet (such as standards for appropriateness/inappropriateness of content in public spaces), while questioning the fundamental state of the future.

For this project, Kubota presents his installation inspired by memories of time spent with his grandmother. He recalls enjoying moments sitting around the kotatsu (blanketed table), eating mikan oranges, and watching the TV comedy program Shoten together. Drawing on these intimate memories, the work was created through interviews with people living with dementia.

The installation consists of two main elements. The first is a display of interview videos with Sekiko, alongside photographs and other memorabilia from her past (see top photo). The second is an experiential walk in which visitors follow the story of Fumi via audio on their smartphones while walking to a nearby venue (Ebihara Shoten). Using AI technology, the interviewer’s voice is modified so that it seems as if the participant themselves is speaking.

In this work, Kubota aims not merely for the audience to watch or listen to edited recordings, but to experience the breath and presence of the interviewees. While the dialogues proceed warmly, moments of subtle “misalignment” can occur; the artist noted that these moments could convey not just absence or discontinuity, but a glimpse of unexperienced intelligence. Meanwhile, the AI-generated voices, while closely resembling the participants’ own, articulate words of “another,” and the voice data is deleted after the experience ends. Expanding the form of documentary, the work raises questions about the ethics of recording and memory, erasure and singularity, and the dynamics of communication and care.

* The interviews were conducted with the participants, their families, and with the cooperation of the care facilities.
* Some parts of the experience require a smartphone and earphones. Bring your own if you want to try; earphones are available to borrow.

Special Cooperation: Etoile Kaito & Co., Inc.