Editorials

Artist and writer Kevin Esherick reflects on his experience at the AI Psychosis Summit. And what was that? It was a community gathering celebrating AI-made projects and arising out of a social circle that straddles downtown New York and the internet.

Eva and Franco Mattes speak with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about the evolution of digital culture through their exhibition Rage Bait, which examined how internet platforms prioritize engagement through outrage. Upon the show’s closing, the artists reflect on their shift from imagining what the internet could be to confronting what it has become, a “mega Eliza", algorithmically optimized to provoke our darkest impulses. Below is the video interview created by Silvia Dal Dosso with music by Pietro, as well as the full interview text.

Memo Akten is a multidisciplinary artist and computer scientist, critically examining emerging technologies. He spoke with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about conducting rather than curating AI, why it's the design he loves and not the code, and how we are not living beings on Earth but extensions of it.

Artist Justin Aversano speaks with Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) about a creative practice built on discipline, systems, lenses, people and technology. They discuss how Aversano’s strict self-imposed rules transform the act of creation into a spiritual ritual. They speak on the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition, Moments of the Unknown, on view at Nguyen Wahed in New York from June 10 to July 11, 2026, curated by Marlene Corbun.

Ruby Justice Thelot describes the emergence of machinic taste, a phenomenon where digital content is increasingly shaped by non-human preferences rather than human desire.

Peter Bauman, Le Random’s editor in chief, attended Art Basel, Basel 2026 and its various side events and exhibitions. He connects his thoughts and a mini-diary to the discussion surrounding the Art Basel talk, “Barbarians at the Gate," with Tina Rivers Ryan, Trevor Paglen, Erick Calderon and Natasha Degen. Bauman suggests that the Zero 10 digital sector and anti-fair Basel Social Club are less barbarians than civilized "Normans," challenging the status quo but ultimately part of the institutional art world. The true "barbarians" are the general public who currently feel excluded from art spaces, emphasizing that the industry must produce work and find sustainable economic models to engage them.