“Dr Altè Al will see you now” is a short film presented at Tate Modern in May 2025 as part of the Tate Tea, Tech, Exchange residency group exhibition.

Part film, part research artefact, the work critiques the uncritical adoption of AI technologies, while spotlighting the erasure of human labour and the cultural specificities that underpin these systems.

The film draws from a dataset I’m developing through my ongoing documentation of the Altè arts movement and community in Lagos, Nigeria, as part of my broader PhD research. I’ve been working with the community to investigate alternative, culturally grounded frameworks for thinking about data and its role in the AI ecosystem.

The video is intentionally uncomfortable. The distorted voice, glitchy visuals, interruptions, and satire are meant to put the discomfort of the current state of AI right on the nose. If it makes you uneasy, good. You should be.