Edge Rewrite
pun Source code View original
Jump to content

// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Misalignment Museum exhibit say? It was a little "off" display.

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Misalignment Museum
Established2023
LocationSan Francisco
TypeArt and technology museum
Manager
Audrey Kim
Websitemisalignmentmuseum.com

The Misalignment Museum displayed art pieces about artificial intelligence and its impacts, with some interactive exhibits.[1] The exhibits in the spring of 2023 provided a window into some versions of a post-apocalyptic world where misaligned AI has destroyed most of humanity, but corrects itself before wiping everybody out and creates the museum to memorialize civilization.[2][3][4]

During its initial eight-week popup run in early 2023 in the Mission District of San Francisco,[5] the museum showcased somewhat more optimistic visions upstairs and more dystopian visions downstairs.[3] Founder and curator Audrey Kim expressed hope that the museum would inspire those building the technologies to think more carefully about the implications of their work[4] and also make

Paperclip Embrace

those conversations about AI dangers more accessible to the average person.[6] The museum then ran another popular pop-up at the Chase Center in Mission Bay starting in September of that year[7][8] and ending in August 2024.[9] The museum was set to reopen in February 2025 and evolve to focus less on visions of the future and more on education and sparking questions and conversations.[5] As of August 2026, the museum was closed to the public but renting out art pieces for events.[10]

Exhibits

[edit]

"Paperclip Embrace" is made up of 15,000 paperclips and references Nick Bostrom's paperclip maximizer problem, a 2003 thought experiment about what could go wrong if an artificial intelligence was instructed to make paperclips without enough safeguards.[11][5][12]

SPAMBOTS by Neil Mendoza

"The Infinite Conversation" is a continuous conversation between AI-generated models of Werner Herzog and Slavo Žižek.[13][14][2]

"SPAMBOTS" is a piece by Neil Mendoza where several tins of Spam are typing with their four robot arms on individual keys to create a novel about caste systems for pigs.[12][15][5][16]

Other exhibits include AI-generated paintings by Grimes,[5] a framed tweet by Dustin Moskovitz about effective altruism,[3] and a piano playing music composed by bacteria.[3]

Reception

[edit]
Art piece from Misalignment Museum

Mission Local said the museum was "at times funny, at times chilling".[4]

SFGate said the museum was a warning from the future, where visitors were encouraged to think critically and creatively about the implications of AI.[12]

The San Francisco Standard said the pop-up museum combined 'an apocalyptic premise' with 'beauty and whimsy'.[1]

Eric Dimond, the senior director of exhibits at the Exploratorium, praised the use of art to explore the concept of AI.[17]

On Tripadvisor, the museum received an average of 5.0 stars over its first 176 reviews between September 2023 and August 2024.[9]

See also

[edit]
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Campodonico, Christina (2023-04-28). "Is Artificial Intelligence Good or Evil? Bay Area Museums Want You To Decide". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  2. 1 2 "At San Francisco expo, AI 'sorry' for destroying humanity". Agence France-Presse via France 24. 2023-03-12. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Johnson, Khari (2023-03-03). "Welcome to the Museum of the Future AI Apocalypse". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  4. 1 2 3 Egitto, Daniel (2023-03-05). "Mission's Misalignment Museum spotlights AI risks". Mission Local. Retrieved 2026-09-11.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Griffith, Erin (2024-11-13). "Stand-Up, Drama and Spambots: The Creative World Takes On A.I." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  6. ↑ Verma, Kavita (March 13, 2023). "Controversial Exhibit: AI says "sorry" for wiping out humanity". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  7. ↑ "Thrive City Announces Misalignment Museum Grand Opening". Chase Center. August 11, 2023. Retrieved 2026-08-26.
  8. ↑ "Get To Know: Misalignment Museum". Chase Center. September 30, 2023. Retrieved 2026-08-26.
  9. 1 2 "Misalignment Ai Museum". Tripadvisor. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Misalignment Museum – Learn about and reflect on the possibilities of AI technology". misalignmentmuseum.com. Retrieved 2026-08-26.
  11. ↑ Leswing, Kif (2023-03-20). "In San Francisco, some people wonder when A.I. will kill us all". CNBC. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  12. 1 2 3 Council, Stephen (2023-03-20). "A buzzy SF museum reckons with tech's eerie future". SFGATE. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  13. ↑ Cornall, Flo (2023-05-23). "These museums showcase the future, not the past". CNN. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  14. ↑ Miceli, Giacomo (2023-04-01). "What an Endless Conversation with Werner Herzog Can Teach Us about AI". Scientific American. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  15. ↑ Plimmer, Joe (2023-03-12). "Sunset in Gaza and an elephant festival: the weekend's best photos". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-08-23.
  16. ↑ Dickey, Megan Rose. "Misalignment Museum in San Francisco explores AI's implications". Axios. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
  17. ↑ Fried, Ina (2025-09-10). "This museum exhibit on AI prompts hard questions". Axios. Retrieved 2026-08-23.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Misalignment_Museum&oldid=1375751973"