Saniya Ashraf

Am I Human Enough?

Honorable Mention

Saniya Ashraf is from Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. I grew up in a culture where art is frowned upon, but it didn’t make me give it up. I am a Digital artist as well as a Software Engineer and currently pursuing a Master’s in Computer Science with specialization in machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). I am also a Fulbright scholar. When pursuing my Bachelors, I earned my living through digital art by being a freelancer. I have always loved both, art and computer science, and have often faced the dilemma of choosing one. At first it was my desire to explore how a mere mechanical box is capable of such great miracles. Then came the curiosity of learning how to teach a computer to fulfill a human need which was followed by the intrigue in how human mind works. It led to efforts in trying to replicate human behavior, teaching computers to see, hear, talk and process information like us humans do. But here lies the ultimate question. If a computer can do all that a human does, more efficiently and accurately along with being able to process emotion, then what are the boundaries that differentiate humans from AI? This is what has always fascinated me, and my artwork is a representation of that. The gears and cracks on the Robot side portrays the fear and ethical concerns of humans towards AI and the light emerging from it displays the positive efforts and services it has provided so far. On the human side there are two scratches under her eye which represents the controlling and violent nature of humans and the blood symbolizes a biological being. With her being expressionless, one can ask a question is it that it doesn’t really feel or if she is hiding her feelings.