Members of the Somabotics Fellowship will travel to Amsterdam later this month to support a third exhibition of Embrace Angels, following successful presentations at Nottingham Contemporary and the Cinekid Festival in 2025. This latest iteration of the interactive performance installation introduces new conversational AI technology and will be showcased at Vrije Universiteit.

The exhibition builds on ongoing research by Lancel and Matt, who have been exploring the concept of human “togetherness” through the act of embracing as part of an Artist-in-Residence programme at the Hybrid Intelligence Centre in Amsterdam. Their work has led to the development of “My Chatbot’s Body”, a poetic conversational AI system that is “searching for a body”.

Presented within the Embrace Angels installation, “My Chatbot’s Bod” invites visitors into a unique dialogue about embodiment, touch and connection. The installation features a nine-metre catwalk, two semi-automated Franka robot arms, and a conversational robot. Through interactions with participants, the AI explores what it might feel like to have a body and how humans and machines can improvise acts of embrace.

As conversations unfold, the AI transforms these exchanges into poetry, which is projected on to a live screen situated in the exhibition space. The result is an evolving performance in which humans and AI co-create a new language for closeness and touch in an increasingly hybrid world.

Embrace Angels raises thought-provoking questions about relationships between humans, robots and artificial intelligence. Can humans and robots truly embrace one another? Who is responsible for an embrace? Can memories be shared between people and machines? And how do our bodies respond when interacting with robotic companions? By creating space for visitors to explore these questions, the installation encourages new narratives and rituals around connection, coexistence and the future of human-AI relationships.

This latest exhibition represents an opportunity to share our research with international audiences, demonstrating how artist-led approaches can open new ways of understanding emerging technologies and their role in society.