Post-Benjamin Pneumatic Cyborg: Musicking with Interactive AI Wearable Instruments

Live performance and artistic research presentation exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, wearable robotics, and experimental music through interactive, movement-responsive instruments.

What happens when artificial intelligence, robotics, and human movement become part of musical performance? In “Post-Benjamin Pneumatic Cyborg: Musicking with Interactive AI Wearable Instruments,” Dr. Viola Yip, composer, sound artist, and instrument builder at the Bern University of the Arts, explores new forms of interaction between humans and machines through experimental musical instruments.

Drawing on her artistic research, Yip presents wearable inflatable robotic instruments that use machine learning to respond to the performer's movements. These instruments learn movement patterns and generate interactive movements and sounds, creating a dynamic relationship between the human performer and the robotic system. The work challenges conventional approaches to robotics focused on precision and reproducibility, instead investigating the possibilities of emergent movement and embodied AI.

Combining live performance with theoretical reflection, the session draws on concepts of human-machine agency, technological reproduction, and cosmotechnics. It is part of the interdisciplinary lecture series “Aporien der Anwendung. Künstliche Intelligenzen in Geisteswissenschaften und Künsten” at Freie Universität Berlin, which examines the cultural, artistic, and societal implications of AI.

Date: November 25, 2026
Time: 6:15–7:45 PM
Location: Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Theatre Studies, Lecture Hall, Grunewaldstraße 35, 12165 Berlin
Organizer: Institute of Theatre Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
Artist and Speaker: Dr. Viola Yip, composer-performer, sound artist, and instrument builder, Bern University of the Arts
Language: English
Audience: Researchers, students, musicians, sound artists, performers, and anyone interested in AI, robotics, and experimental art
Focus: Artificial intelligence, wearable robotics, machine learning, experimental music, embodied AI, and human-machine interaction
Format details: Live performance and artistic research presentation featuring interactive inflatable robotic instruments
Lecture series: Aporien der Anwendung. Künstliche Intelligenzen in Geisteswissenschaften und Künsten
Accessibility: Step-free access via the rear entrance on Schmidt-Ott-Straße