Theodore Koterwas

Theodore Koterwas is a Lecturer in Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Design and a CoSTAR Research Fellow in Embodied Realtime AI. Holding an MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute, his practice bridges art, design, and music to explore human-technology-environment intersections through installations, performances, and software.

• Current affiliations: University of Edinburgh, Creative Informatics, DECaDE network
• Previous roles: Exploratorium (San Francisco), University of Oxford

Research focus: Embodied AI interactions using haptics, computer vision, and reinforcement learning; data visceralisation; empathy in human-machine collaboration; philosophical implications of machine agency. His work interrogates:

• Physical engagement with AI systems
• Biometric data ethics
• AI’s role in creative processes
• Environmental technology metaphors

The 12 listed works (2018–2025) demonstrate AI integration across tactile, visual, and performative domains, exploring themes like identity transformation, deepfake ethics, and planetary materialism. Scientific recognition includes Lumen Prize shortlistings.

• 2021: Lumen Prize shortlist for The Nth Wave
• 2024: Lumen Prize finalist for All the boys ate a fish

As advisor to PhD student Yumeng Guo, he investigates AI’s societal implications through funded projects like Creative Informatics and Aberdeen Performing Arts collaborations. His practice challenges notions of intelligence, creativity, and humanity’s relationship with technology.