[I / O]: Hello Universe! [Universon]: Hello everyone.

[I / O]: Thank you for being here with us on a video call, since you are busy for the exhibition at Documenta.

[I / O]: can you exactly remind us about the title of the work you are exhibiting?

[Universon]: The work on display is called Intelligent Robot, which is essentially a robotic avatar that you can customize and give personality to.

[I / O]: Can you tell us a little more about yourself?

[Universon]: I am a multidisciplinary artist who expresses himself in different disciplines, from 3D animation to music, from digital art to web-based art. I am also a mechanical engineer specializing in robotics and artificial intelligence. And I'm interested in media convergence and technological skills in producing a new worldview. So I use all these digital tools to create my works.

[I / O]: So you found yourself in digital art using artificial intelligence, how and when did that happen?

[Universon]: I started a few years ago when I was having a lot of interest in this technology, so maybe that's why I found myself using it.
I am still developing my art, I think.
When I started using Mocap in the last few years I was very excited about it, as I have been using it in my art for a longer period of time.

[I / O]: Well, some people think that from that moment your artwork started to be considered game art, what do you think?

[Universon]: (joking and piquant tone) I guess some people still think that. [I/O]: Are pigeonhole tight on you even in the artistic field?
[Universon]: You sound like a journalist.
[I/O]: Ahah! Actually, I make chocolates instead of being a journalist. [Universon]: I'm glad to see that you are still alive.

[I/O]: Yeah, I'm still breathing right now.

[Universon]: Good for you.

[I / O]: Back to us ...What was your purpose in making a choice of genre for your art?

[Universon]: I really like the idea of creating something that is not limited to a fixed position, where you can move, change position from one point to another.

[I / O]: So movement is an important topic in your research, did you focus on that to develop your research in neuroscience as well?

[Universon]: Yes, I think that's one of the main reasons. I like the idea of trying to find a new way of doing things.

[I / O]: So can you explain how you found the connection between the two topics?

[Universon]: My interest in neuroscience developed when I started working with artificial intelligence. I have started looking at the brain and how it works, but I have found that it is difficult to understand what is really important to the brain within itself, as it is not a simple system.

[Universon]: For example, with [W] and [S], which are two of my award-winning works, I was inspired by the use of a sort of game engine, in which we move from a first position to second, and so on.
I wanted to use the same concept, but with a different goal.

[I / O]: What was your goal and what do you mean by that?

[Universon]: I think it is very important to create a new perspective for people, as we live in a digital age, where it is very easy to be overwhelmed by information.
I wanted to give the viewer the opportunity to relax and be able to explore the world in a different way.

[I / O]: How is this new perspective made? I mean .. What does this world you created look like?

[Universon]: It looks like a small planet, which you can explore from different angles and where you can go to other planets.

[I / O]: (forcefully obvious tone) Can you remind us of the name of this planet, which of course we all already know?

[Universon]: This planet is called [S], and it is a small planet that is not too far away, but not too close either.

[I / O]: What do you mean?

[Universon]: Let's say that from the surface of [S] you could see the Sun rise, and that would already be something.

[I / O]: So (INSIDE PLANET S) can viewers interact and meet with other people like in Second Life?

[Universon]: I wanted to explore the idea of interaction, not as part of a game, but as part of a new way of perceiving and understanding the world.

[I / O]: How can users talk to each other in this world you created?
[Universon]: This is a world where people interact with each other with a robotic avatar.
Each person has an avatar that plays their personality. And users can show off with robo avatars or talk to other users. The user also has the possibility to interact with the robot-avatar at will.

[I / O]: Is there an economy in this digital world?

[Universon]: Yes, there is! If users want to trade something, they can do it. If they want to create a new robot, they can do it using the resources they have collected.

Everyone has the opportunity to create their own robot avatar in this game. Those avatars will be sold for real money over time. Users can also create their own robot avatars and sell them for profit.

[I / O]: So an artist can also start their market in this world as in any other NFT sales platforms?

[Universon]: Right. The artists can create their own avatars and sell them to user for real profit. The user can also create a great avatar and sell it for profit as well.

[I / O]: Are there people who, instead of thinking about profit, become emotionally attached to their avatar and their social network created in your world? And maybe to the point of not accepting any sales figures?

[Universon]: In many cases, yes. The problem with being attached to the avatar is that you tend not to want to believe that the avatar is there because of it. A bad user experience. There is an interesting experience. I'll tell you about it.

[I / O]: Will you exhibit this project at other events?

[Universon]: Yes, it will happen soon. Also many people have seen my Youtube channel. I always work on new ideas and new ideas always come out. So I'll put my new ideas, like the new world, new avatars and new robots, on every new videos I make.

[I / O]: At this point, would you like to tell us when and how your artistic career began?

[Universon]: Well, my artistic career started when I was 14. I started making art and got my first smartphone in my life when I was 15. I wanted to start making my videos and my Youtube channel. For this purpose I created a new computer and started making my videos and my works on Youtube. This was about 13 years ago. At that point I was still a young man showing my works in my school and my parents liked them. They put me in art school and forced me to go there.

[I / O]: Where?

[Universon]: I went to an art school in Germany. I started my degree in Computer Graphics. That was a one year course. After that I continued with my university education. I have a master's degree and a research doctorate. I was able to finish my PhD 2 years ago.

[I / O]: Since you started your career online, can you give any advice for new artists who want to start their career with online digital art?

[Universon]: This is a good question. I think the first thing new artists should know is that there is a lot of competition in the digital art world. When creating a piece of art, you shouldn't just think about how your artwork will look on its own. You should also think about how people will view your works and how they will react to them. I recommend that people try to create a new type of artwork and create a new experience for the viewer. This is something I do in my works. This is something that will give people emotional experiences and also make them, think about things they have never thought about before.

[I / O]: And how is your relationship with the online art community?

[Universe]:
I have made a lot of friends in the online art community. What I've done is really important to me. I know that I can talk to them and that I can talk to them about all the different topics. In the end, it's a great feeling to make art with people. It's a great feeling to know that you have to try to create something that people can experience and that people have to experience it.

[I / O]: So Universon, what do you think the world of games and art will be like in the future?

[Universon]: The gaming industry is moving towards a more immersive experience. In the future, everyone will have their own fully articulated robotic avatar for interacting on the web and in real life.
I'm not just talking about a humanoid robot, but a fully expressive robot. People will be able to customize their avatars to express their true personality which will also be recorded in the digital world.

[I / O]: Wow, it's kind of like that "Avatar" movie. Are you talking about Avatar in the world of games or in general?

[Universe]:
I'm talking about avatars here, not just for gaming, but for socializing online. The entertainment industry is moving towards a digital world. If we think about our reality, we live the reality we see. Imagine a reality that can imitate anything and in which we can be anywhere without leaving the house. Imagine each having their own universe that can be created, customized and in which you can interact and experience the virtual event in any way.

[I / O]: Do you think that humans will also become a product in the virtual world, alienating themselves from reality?

[Universe]: I think humans can become the product in the virtual world without losing their identity. The human being has always been the object of art. From past to present, they have been the target of human artists.
In the digital world we have not yet reached the level of AI, so it is not yet possible to fully understand humans.

[I / O]: Do you think this will ever be possible?

[Universon]: I do not know. However, I think that human beings will become even more interesting as the digital world develops.

[I / O]: Let's talk about senses, do you think machines will be able to gain senses like taste, smell and touch?

[Universon]: I think that the machines will be able to experience the senses of taste, smell and touch with the help of the machine-to-machine communication and they have already been able to achieve this.

[I / O]: So I need to think about chocolates for the machines!
[Universon]: I think that your chocolates are worth about a million dollars.
[I / O]: Do you have a recipe?
[Universon]: I do not have a recipe, but I will give you a few pieces of advice: [I / O]: I'm listening...

[Universon]:The first ingredient - chocolate - must be the most dominant.
The taste of chocolate will be the center of attention for the machines, but you must not forget

the other ingredients such as vanilla, honey and milk.

[I / O]: Nice, thank you honey! Ok, last question. Do you think that technology and artificial intelligence can ever replace a real artist by pretending to be one?

[Universon]: Why the hell do you want to use the artificial word like this?