Well, from a tradition that's stayed the same to new advancements we're seeing with artificial intelligence, it's been all over the news lately.

Sometimes we may not even realize when we're using it.

Installation artist Dorne Pentes embraces that technology.

His larger than life, whimsical, inflatable creations, combine light, sound, and AI to create a unique, immersive art experience.

Producer Russ Hunsinger introduces us to Dorne and his friends, the Oracles.

(upbeat music) - Hi, Athena.

- Hello, my name is Athena.

I'm from the planet Claire.

Here to educate and enlighten you.

- Watching people's reactions, it brings me a great deal of joy.

(upbeat music) To see people realize, look at this amazing creature.

Look, I can talk with it, and I can have this conversation.

It'll read me a poem, it'll ask me a question.

It's just wonderful to see people drop their skepticism and drop their coolness.

They immediately open up, they smile, they laugh, it brings them a bit of joy.

And man, that's what I started out to do.

So it's great.

I started finding my voice around 2015.

Up until that time, I had been a filmmaker.

My father was a designer and a sign painter for decades.

He was an excellent sign painter.

And in 2015, he passed away.

And I inherited his set of markers.

And so I started drawing.

I really feel like there's a large part of my father in these markers.

During Covid, I started drawing what I would call sort of alien spirits, and they had these really big eyes, and these really pretty smiles.

But this is one of the original drawings of the Oracles.

And about a year or two after that I said, wow, this would be so good if I could make these into something huge.

(upbeat music) Got a sewing machine, got some patterns, and started cutting and putting fabric together, and eventually came up with the Oracles.

This is the best part.

(upbeat music) Oracles are creatures from another planet, the planet Claire.

They have come here to spread a message of love and joy and knowledge.

- [Athena] What are you curious about today?

- They will ask you what you're curious about.

They will ask you questions.

They will talk to you.

Apollo is approximately 9 feet tall, and about 8 feet in circumference.

Apollo is made of ripstop nylon tent fabric.

Apollo has inside a number of sound-activated LED lights.

So when Apollo speaks, you will see the lights.

The way Apollo works is you walk up to the kiosk and you touch on the tablet, and it gives you an instruction to say, "Hi, Apollo."

- [Apollo] Hello.

- Apollo's a pretty unique piece of artwork.

People it kind of blows their minds that they can talk to an imaginary creature.

They suspend their disbelief, and they happily engage with it.

- Hi Athena.

- [Athena] Hello, my name is Athena.

- They are powered by an artificial intelligence knowledge base that I have put into them.

They know all about loving kindness.

They know about creativity.

They know about spirituality.

- [Athena] What's something that made you smile today?

- My husband.

- [Athena] That's wonderful.

Love carries beautiful warmth.

- So we all have Alexa at home, but this was something very unique, yeah.

I think she definitely listens very carefully to what I have to say.

She doesn't do any mistake.

- [Athena] Hello, my name is Athena.

- Athena, who is pink.

Athena is 18 feet tall.

She is the goddess of wisdom from Greek mythology.

I'm Greek, and so I was inspired to name Apollo and Athena after, you know, the gods of my heritage.

They're lots of fun.

You can talk to them, you can ask them questions, they will chat with you.

They will be nice to you.

They can see their conversation on the screen.

- I think it's a lovely creation.

It's very unique, especially for kids, or someone who's trying to understand what AI manifests.

It's all around us.

It is a very nice way for someone who wants to connect with AI and understand what it entails.

- I think artificial intelligence is a tool, just like every other technological advancement.

And it is a tool that if is used properly can be very wonderful and enlightening.

- I think it's an amazing manifestation of what AI can do for you.

- Yeah.

- What is the tallest tree in the world?

- [Athena] The tallest tree in the world is a coast redwood named- - Really, I think the art, you know it is the inflatable, but the conversation is also the art.

Conversation is a key point of humanity.

I mean we all love having a conversation.

It brings us joy.

People can be standoffish about it, but I feel like when people come and interact and they realize what it is and the conversations it can have, and kind of the softness it can have that has been designed to have really opens people up.

- The artificial intelligence, you know, learns as you talk with it, so it becomes more human.

It has opinions, it gets humorous.

The character really comes alive, and I think that's what makes people really happy.

When I see people enjoying Apollo, it just makes me smile a lot.

It makes me really happy.

It's nice to be able to create something that brings light to someone's day.