In a workshop at Oxford Kilns, the air is thick with the scent of damp earth and the resonance of a Buddhist singing bowl. As the bell strikes, a group of AI researchers, spiritual leaders, and global tech experts fall silent, their attention pulled away from the digital ether and back toward the physical world. This is the center of the “AI and Earth” conference, an experimental gathering organized by artist and stage designer Es Devlin.
The goal is a tactile exploration of AI and ethics, using a medium that is as old as the planet itself. Participants are tasked with kneading and shaping 160-million-year-old Jurassic clay, a sensory exercise designed to ground a conversation that often drifts into the abstract. For Devlin, the act of pottery serves as a necessary friction against the frictionless nature of modern computing.
“I felt the most appropriate place to hold the conference would be in a potters’ workshop – with our hands in contact with 160m-year-old Jurassic clay!” Devlin says. “It’s an antidote to eyes in front of screens with our hands dancing over keyboards.”
Bridging the Divide at the Schwarzman Centre
The workshop is more than a creative retreat; it is a preparatory act for the opening of the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. As the largest single building project in the history of Oxford University, the center is designed to be an accessible hub for the public, featuring a gallery, cinema, and the world’s first Passivhaus concert hall.
Within this architectural landmark resides the Institute for Ethics in AI, a center for moral philosophy where Devlin has collaborated to explore the intersection of technology and the human spirit. The physical output of the pottery summit will culminate in an installation titled 360 Vessels, a collaboration between Devlin and American composer Nico Muhly. The 360 pots—crafted by the summit participants and members of the public—will be displayed beneath the octagonal dome of the center’s great hall.
Devlin describes the installation as “a vessel for every degree of difference of point of view.” The performance will be accompanied by the University Chamber Choir, performing a piece by Muhly inspired by the 17th-century theologian and poet Thomas Traherne. In a further layer of conceptual depth, subsequent workshops will feature an edited recording of the conversations held during the pottery-making process, allowing new participants to engage with the dialogue as they work the clay.
The Philosophy of the “Digital Shadow”
To foster genuine dialogue, Devlin implemented a rule of anonymity, insisting that participants introduce themselves by first names only. This approach was inspired by monastic retreats, such as those led by diplomat Christiana Figueres, where oil executives and climate activists work side-by-side in silence before discussing their opposing views. By stripping away titles and professional hierarchies, the summit sought a common ground that transcends corporate or academic affiliation.
The resulting conversations spanned a wide intellectual spectrum, touching on the evolution of the 1950 Turing test and whether it should be updated to measure compassion rather than just intelligence. Participants discussed Isaac Asimov’s 1942 “Three Laws of Robotics” and the “centaur” or “cyborg” models of human-AI collaboration proposed by Ethan Mollick in his 2024 book Co-Intelligence.
Some discussions leaned toward the ecological and the metaphysical, including the “Compost computer”—a prototype that converts bioenergy into electricity—and the works of Jorge Luis Borges. However, the dialogue also touched upon the stark reality of the “digital divide.” One of the lead potters noted that the ability to debate the ethics of AI is, in itself, a luxury. She pointed out that in many developing nations, AI is not a topic of ethical debate but a force that is simply happening to people without their input or consent.
The Tension of Anthropomorphism
A recurring theme at the summit was the human impulse to anthropomorphize AI. Despite the logical arguments against attributing human consciousness to large language models, many participants admitted an irresistible urge to do so. Devlin, who has worked with these models for a decade, views this through the lens of language, and identity.
Referencing Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Devlin spoke about “digital shadows”—the data trails that define us in the eyes of an algorithm. She likened this to Peter Pan losing his shadow, suggesting that our digital presence is often a detached version of ourselves, used to train algorithms that concentrate wealth in the hands of a few.
“I am aware that my art and my words and my every choice, my presence, is being used to train the algorithms that concentrate wealth among a small number of individuals,” Devlin says. “And, in spite of this – however confusing, however painful – I would like to attempt to stitch my digital shadow back on to my feet and dance with it myself, and invite others to dance with it too.”
Looking Ahead
The intersection of AI and ethics remains a volatile and evolving field, but projects like 360 Vessels attempt to move the conversation from the screen to the soil. By combining the prehistoric nature of ceramics with the futuristic trajectory of AI, Devlin aims to remind us that the “human” in the humanities is defined by touch, presence, and the willingness to engage with a divergent point of view.
The installation and choral performance will be presented as part of the Open House festival at the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford on April 25. This event marks the next confirmed checkpoint for the project, bringing the private conversations of the pottery summit into a public, shared space.
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