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The Big Sip
Image: ©Refik Anadol Studio | Gallery C – Infinity Room at DATALAND
The take: DATALAND is the first AI art museum using licensed training data, supporting its ethical AI positioning.
What happened: On 26 October 2025, Refik Anadol Studio announced DATALAND will open spring 2026 at Frank Gehry's Grand LA complex in downtown Los Angeles.
Why it matters: The 25,000-square-foot museum's flagship Infinity Room will feature AI-generated scents and World Models—generative AI that understands real-world physics—AI art has expanded into multisensory experiences.
What to watch: Spring 2026 opening details, ticketing information and the inaugural Artist Residency Program with Google Arts & Culture, which will showcase three artists exploring AI-assisted creative work.
[Analysis] Time Out notes the museum's location in LA's cultural corridor and the significance of the delay. Published 23 October 2025.
DATALAND will sit at The Grand LA, directly across from Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall, joining The Broad, MOCA, The Music Center and The Colburn School.
The museum marks a homecoming for Anadol and co-founder Efsun Erkılıç, who projected the celebrated WDCH Dreams onto Disney Concert Hall in 2018.
AI art that smells is either the future of museums or proof we've run out of ideas.
Sponsor Break
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Here’s Your Brew
Most companies call their AI "ethical" after training on scraped data.
Anadol's team actually secured permission first.
The Large Nature Model used 9 million specimen records and half a billion nature images from the Smithsonian, Natural History Museum and Cornell Lab.
Every piece has documented permission.
This works because nature institutions want publicity and don't charge licensing fees.
Commercial image agencies have different requirements. Getty Images and Associated Press operate on different terms.
The museum demonstrates that permission-based AI training is technically feasible using institutional partnerships.
Whether it's economically viable at scale remains to be seen.
Two Sides, One Mug
Image: Dataland
Pro: DATALAND demonstrates ethical AI data sourcing, creates technical innovation with World Models that understand physics, and provides a dedicated space for exploring AI-assisted creativity in LA's arts district.
Con: The "world's first AI art museum" description may be ambitious given it primarily showcases one artist's work. The permission-based model succeeds partly because museums provided data without licensing fees.
Our read: The ethical sourcing approach is significant. Anadol demonstrated that permission-based AI training is technically feasible through institutional partnerships.
Receipt of the Day
DATALAND's official about page detailing the Large Nature Model and studio history — Published October 2025
The announcement confirms Anadol and Erkılıç founded Refik Anadol Studio in Los Angeles in 2014 and have exhibited in more than 70 cities worldwide.
The Large Nature Model is described as "the world's first open source AI model based solely on nature data." The specification of "nature data" rather than "all data" indicates the model's scope is limited to natural history content.
The model uses data from museums and scientific institutions that provided access without licensing fees. Different economic considerations would apply when working with commercial content creators who require compensation for data use.
Spit Take
“10M people have seen Anadol’s Infinity Rooms.” — Blooloop.
Your Coffee Break Links (and water cooler chatter)
My Modern Met previews the Infinity Room and Artist Residency Program details — Three artists will get six months of mentorship, funding and technical resources to create AI-powered immersive installations that debut at DATALAND. [Report]
Designboom explains DATALAND's collaboration with Gensler and Arup for sustainable design — The museum's architecture integrates sustainability consultancy from the start, with all AI research conducted on Google servers in Oregon powered entirely by renewable energy. [Analysis]
Parametric Architecture breaks down how World Models simulate real-world physics — World Models learn and simulate spatial behaviour algorithmically, warping and dissolving architectural constraints to create the illusion of unbounded infinity in a finite mirrored cube. [Analysis]
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Mugshot Poll 📊
Would you visit an AI art museum that generates smells?
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Enjoy your Tuesday and stay caffeinated.
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