Last Word: New Ways of Seeing, New Ways of Acting

by Matjaz Vidmar & Drew Hemment

Image credit: 'How to Find the Soul of a Sailor' by Kasia Molga

This Edition Two of The New Real Magazine has traced an ambitious journey: from creating simple digital tools for environmental engagement to developing new ways for humans and AI to collaborate in understanding

planetary change. Through The New Real Observatory and the artworks it enabled, we've seen how artificial intelligence might help us bridge the gap between environmental data and lived experience.

Yet the broader perspectives offered in our Reflections and Interjections sections remind us that technological innovation alone cannot address our environmental challenges. These contributions highlight crucial questions about AI's environmental impact, its relationship to global inequalities, and its potential to either reinforce or challenge existing power

structures. They suggest that meaningful engagement with environmental futures requires us to consider not just how AI might help us see our changing planet, but who gets to shape these new ways of seeing.

The Indigenous perspectives, artistic insights and critical analyses presented here point toward a more nuanced understanding of AI's role in environmental futures. They suggest that rather than seeing AI simply as a tool for processing environmental data, we might understand it as part of a broader conversation about how different forms of knowledge – technological, artistic, indigenous, embodied – might help us grasp and respond to environmental change.

As we close this edition, we're reminded that the real power of platforms like The New Real Observatory lies not just in their technical capabilities, but in how they help us imagine new relationships between technology, art, and environment. In bringing together diverse perspectives on these relationships, we hope to contribute to a richer understanding of how we might use AI not just to measure environmental change, but to help us create more equitable and sustainable futures.

The New Real Publication

The New Real is a hub for AI, creativity and futures research. Its mission is to support the development of significant artistic works, and to stimulate new paradigms for inclusive and responsible technologies. To promote open research it develops imaginative ways to experiment with new concepts, practices and infrastructures, and to empower people to be agents of positive change. As a part of this mission, The New Real publishes an Open Journal, which includes this magazine.

Executive Editors

Drew Hemment & Matjaz Vidmar

Editor

Amanda Tyndall

Design, Production and Project Management

Courtney Bates

Thanks to The New Real Community. The New Real is a partnership between The University of Edinburgh, The Alan Turing Institute and Edinburgh's Festivals. Supported by UK Research and Innovation (EPSRC, AHRC), Towards Turing 2.0, Creative Scotland, Scottish AI Alliance, and the Data-Driven Innovation Programme.

Cite as: Drew Hemment, Matjaz Vidmar and Amanda Tyndall, eds. (2025). ‘New Ways of Seeing, New Ways of Acting.’ The New Real Magazine, Edition Two. pp 100-101. www.newreal.cc/magazine-edition-two/last-word