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By combining his skills in both the humanities and engineering, UB faculty member Marc Böhlen expresses his creative works through technology.

“I’m an artist-engineer. I think of engineering as an expressive palette that you can use like any traditional medium to comment on the cultural context we live in,” says Böhlen, professor in the Department of Art.

Böhlen’s career path to UB is as unique as his creative practice. He began as a trained stonemason who owned his own company restoring churches and townhouses in Zurich. After earning a Lizentiat (the Swiss equivalent of a master’s degree) in art history and archaeology from the University of Zürich, he worked as a farmhand in British Columbia before pursuing electrical engineering at the University of Colorado, followed by studies in art and robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. He also worked for several years at IBM Research Labs in Switzerland as technical staff in fiber optics.

“I had the unique opportunity to invest 15 years into a mixed-mode higher learning that I wish everyone could do,” he says. “It’s very fulfilling to have a broad exposure to different ways of knowing.”

This journey, he explains, provided him with an important perspective.

“Every field you engage with, that you achieve some form of mastery in, gives you unique insights that you can’t replicate with other approaches. A chef knows things about cooking that no expert in dietary science can know,” he says. “Likewise, a surgeon knows things about the body that no holistic practitioner can know. Combining that across fields is a unique way of knowing.”

With his broad foundation, Böhlen approaches each new project as a “condition detective” — analyzing the mechanics and social impacts of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

“It’s outreach, public discussion, surprise, provocation,” he says. “The different pieces differ in focus, but they all start with investigating a technical condition — how it works, how it unfolds in the world, who benefits, who’s impacted and how are we living with this condition.”

His work takes many forms — books, software, installations, performances — depending on the message and medium best suited for the inquiry.

His current work is rooted in culture jamming — using art, installations, books, and public engagements to critique and provoke dialogue about technological systems, especially those like AI that subtly shape society. His latest project, “Logics of Planetary Computing: Artificial Intelligence and Geography in the Alas Mertajati,” explores how satellite imagery and AI interpret unusual landscapes, such as those shaped by sustainable land practices like agroforestry. The examines the complex relationship between AI and geography, and is paired with an interactive web installation, , where users can engage directly with some of the AI models. The Alas Mertajati is a sacred forest in Indonesia.

Böhlen launched the project in Buffalo and presented it at a conference in Zurich.

“I’m always looking for the right or most potent way for the work to unfold. I like the ability to literally speak to different audiences,” he says, “and I find that important.”

Böhlen shares his interdisciplinary mindset with students across the university.

“I create different types of classroom experiences. I have a UB-wide course called Machines, Codes, and Cultures, where I present a history of technology — from the first stone tools to the latest robot,” he says.

“Artificial Intelligence studio courses focus on translating ideas into artifacts. I try to create learning experiences in which designers, artists and engineers learn from each other in collaborative, self-defined projects that sometimes lead to peer-reviewed .”

Now in his 25th year at UB, Böhlen is also affiliated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science. His teaching is driven by a fundamental understanding of the changing technological landscape.

“AI is rearranging the landscape of creative practices in many ways,” he notes. “Humans now have fledging, if serious competition. Human artists, designers or engineers will have new roles. Their job isn’t to compete with machines — it’s to steer and coach them. Diligent decision-making and good taste will be key.”

His newest project focuses on designing systems where AIs interact with each other — with Böhlen acting as the conductor.

“I’m building systems where one AI interacts with another — kind of like they’re working in exchanges — and I function as the conductor, the orchestra manager,” he says. “I’m orchestrating their interaction, which takes place in a space that’s no longer strictly human territory.”

To view Böhlen’s current and past projects, .