SHERIDAN, WYOMING – August 5, 2025 – In an age where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries and everyday life, one artist is spotlighting the overlooked human hands behind the code. French filmmaker and artist Nicolas Gourault has won the 2025 Human AI Art Award for his compelling video installation Unknown Label, a powerful exploration of the hidden labor fueling today’s smart technologies.
A spotlight on invisible workers
Gourault’s award-winning work tells the real-life stories of online “clickworkers” — microworkers from the Global South who manually label images for use in training AI systems, including self-driving cars. While the tech world often celebrates automation, Unknown Label zooms in on the people whose unseen efforts make it all possible.
“It’s a great joy and honor to receive this award given by a remarkable jury among so many high-profile submissions. I believe it’s important to remember the valuable human labor and inequalities at the heart of the AI hype we’re living through, and to advocate for fair working conditions,” said Gourault. “I hope this award and the exhibition will be an opportunity to share the work with a wide audience.”
A multi-sensory experience in Bonn
The immersive three-channel video installation will premiere on September 21, 2025, as part of a two-month exhibition in the Human AI Art Space located in front of the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Designed as a platform for exploring the intersection of fine art and future technologies, the space offers visitors a chance to step into the lives of the people behind the algorithms.
The exhibition draws viewers into:
- The working conditions of data labelers often based in developing countries
- The ethical tension between automation and labor
- The emotional complexity behind seemingly mundane digital tasks
Why this matters for everyday tech users
What sets Unknown Label apart is its emotional depth. Rather than focusing on AI’s capabilities, the piece asks us to rethink the human cost behind those capabilities. It’s a timely reminder that the convenience of modern tech is often built on the labor of individuals we never see.
Telekom CEO Tim Höttges reflected on this duality: “We welcome artistic exploration of the tension between visual art and modern technology. It opens new perspectives and enables us to shift our minds… In the best-case scenario, it allows us to experience the world anew and rediscover it with optimism.”
Art responding to the speed of innovation
The Human AI Art Award, created in 2024 by Deutsche Telekom and Kunstmuseum Bonn, aims to spotlight creatives working where technology and emotion collide. In this second edition, 30 international artists were nominated and 23 applied. Gourault was nominated by Dr. Inke Arns, Director of Hartware Medienkunstverein (HMKV), and chosen by a jury of respected curators, artists, and academics.
Their decision was based on the depth of Gourault’s research and his critical focus on the human role in AI development. Prof. Dr. Stephan Berg, Director of Kunstmuseum Bonn, summed it up: “Artists wouldn't be artists if they didn't address precisely this and generate insights in their work that AI alone simply can't generate.”
Gourault’s growing global presence
Born in 1991, Nicolas Gourault lives and works in Paris. With a background in art and research, his works have been exhibited at leading institutions including:
- Centre Pompidou (France)
- ZKM | Center for Art and Media (Germany)
- Ars Electronica (Austria)
- Berlinale and Cinéma du Réel film festivals
His approach blends storytelling, sociology, and digital critique, making him a rising voice in the global conversation around technology and ethics.
The message behind the medium
Gourault’s Unknown Label serves not only as a visual artwork but also as a social statement — one that challenges viewers to look beyond the polished surfaces of AI and consider the human lives quietly shaping the digital world. In doing so, it elevates a conversation that’s too often left behind in the rush toward innovation.
Learn more about the exhibition at kunstmuseum-bonn.de.