The VALAWAI (Value-awareness in AI) project took center stage on Saturday, September 6, at the International exhibition “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial” in the Biennale di Venezia 2025, hosting an event dedicated to exploring awareness in humanoid robots and how artificial systems can align with human values.
The day began with the art-science installation “Am I a Strange Loop?”, designed and produced by Takashi Ikegami and Luc Steels (Valawai Project), featuring the android Alter3, developed by the University of Tokyo. Integrating ChatGPT-4 for multilingual dialogue and self-programming capabilities, Alter3 allowed visitors to experience firsthand how an artificial system can interact convincingly and even suggest signs of self-awareness, merging science, technology, and art.
The program continued with the symposium “Will the AI-powered robots of the future be self-aware?”, moderated by Oscar Villaroya (Autonomous University and IMIM Barcelona) and featuring leading international experts: Stanislas Dehaene (Collège de France), Takashi Ikegami (University of Tokyo), Luc Steels (University of Brussels), Thomas Metzinger (University of Mainz), Stefano Nolfi (CNR, Rome), and Ricardo Manzotti (IULM, Milan). The discussion focused on what future humanoid robots might be like, whether they could have awareness of their own bodies and thoughts, possess a narrative self with moral and emotional facets, and the ethical and social implications of integrating such systems into everyday life.
The installation and symposium are part of the ongoing VALAWAI project, which aims to develop conceptual and technological frameworks to introduce awareness in artificial systems, promoting artificial systems that align with human values. Applications under development include social robots, medical decision support systems, and social media tools.
Through this participation, VALAWAI strengthened its position as an international reference in research on awareness and consciousness in AI, bringing complex scientific and philosophical questions closer to the public through direct interaction and expert dialogue. VALAWAI is one of the projects approved in the European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenge “Awareness Inside” and is part of the EIC portfolio on ‘Awareness Inside’.
The installation, curated by Carlo Ratti, was designed by Takashi Ikegami and Luc Steels and won the prize for the most commented installation in the Biennale. The development of Alter3 Android is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
