Digital artist Beeple created an interactive installation in Berlin featuring robot dogs with hyper-realistic silicone heads of tech CEOs and artists [1].
The work serves as a commentary on the intersection of corporate power, artificial intelligence, and the loss of personal privacy in a digital age.
Located at the Neue Nationalgalerie, the exhibition displays robot dogs whose heads are silicone replicas of five figures: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso [1]. The machines are equipped with cameras that capture their surroundings and then "defecate" printed images of the footage they record [2].
Beeple, whose real name is Mike Winkelmann, said the installation is a direct attack on the way society anthropomorphizes technology and surrenders privacy [3]. By blending the faces of influential billionaires and legendary artists with robotic animals, the artist highlights the tension between human creativity and algorithmic control.
"We are giving feelings to AI when they are just algorithms," Beeple said [4].
The artist used the printing mechanism to make a specific point about data collection. Beeple said the dogs turn surveillance into a literal waste product [5].
The exhibition first opened in 2024 [6] and continues to draw attention for its viral nature and provocative subject matter. The installation utilizes the physical space of the gallery to force viewers into the role of the observed, mirroring the pervasive surveillance exercised by major tech companies [1].
By presenting the heads of industry leaders on robotic pets, the work suggests that the "friendly" face of modern technology often masks a system of constant monitoring and data extraction.
“"We are giving feelings to AI when they are just algorithms."”
This installation reflects a growing movement in contemporary art that uses 'adversarial' technology to critique the tech industry. By utilizing the very tools of surveillance—cameras and robotics—to create a grotesque parody of tech leaders, Beeple highlights the irony of a public that often trusts the humanized branding of AI while ignoring the systemic erosion of privacy.
