Wires, pencils, plastic heads, earbuds and swords draped across student models at the metallic fashion show. The show was to celebrate the release of the latest edition of Midas Magazine, UNC Charlotte’s student-led arts and culture magazine. “Artifice,” the first edition of the sixth volume, is a futuristic cyberpunk-themed project that examines the proliferating presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in students’ lives.
Models strode down the steps of Rowe 131 to “Xtal” by Aphex Twin, covered in shades of silver, white, black and electric blue, symbolizing AI and technology’s encroachment on students’ lives. The show visualized how large language models like ChatGPT are changing the present and imagines what the ongoing effects they could have on our future.
Editor-in-Chief Caprielle Terry explains that this edition’s collaborative focus ties directly to the rise of artificial intelligence. “We wanted to encompass technology, and everyone’s talking about artificial intelligence, so we wanted to show how that relates to our culture now and things in the world around us,” Terry said.
Terry emphasized that no part of the magazine or show uses AI; instead, it models all the opportunities and tensions AI introduces.
Terry pointed to specific pages that highlight AI’s flaws: the extra limbs on page 24, the missing mouth on page 46 and the human-robot merge on page 51. These glitches represent the errors and possibilities that arise from AI’s attempts to generate the unprecedented.
“We were trying to encompass the bad things about AI, but using that in the work we want as well,” Terry said.
The launch opened with short speeches from the executive team, each offering thanks and explaining why this edition’s theme matters now. Managing Editor Nadia Narayanan, a data science major, spoke on the increasing overlap between creativity and technology.
Narayanan, in her speech, discussed how technology can be utilized to create something positive; a better-formed bridge between technology and art increases the possibilities for what can be pictured with fashion in the present and in the future.
Model Raheim Hayes, a third-year computer science major with a concentration in AI, Gaming and Robotics, walked in the fashion show. With a face covered in mirrors, he emphasized the significance of portraying a widely used technology in this edition through art.
“Knowing everything that goes into the background of AI really changes your perspective when you just don’t take it for face value,” Hayes said. “I can actually see it going down a path where someone has a whole lot of metal in their face, and they’re really chromed out. If we continue with AI, there’s only more discoveries that AI’s coming with.”
Others viewed the show as a glimpse into a future full of unprecedented possibilities that technology presents.
“I think this could represent how our generation is very radical in how we express ourselves,” model Kayla Moussa said. “One day, someone probably will have spikes coming out of their face or casually pumping glitter into themselves and looking like a disco ball.”
“It embraces the extreme. I feel like that’s what we need,” said model Barry Broadway.
Artifice sparked a wide range of student reactions–some excited about the theme and its safe exploration into an AI-shaped future, others frustrated that AI remains an unavoidable topic. Still, the show celebrates the creativity, talent and expression that students at UNC Charlotte hold. With each aspect of Midas and their shows being led by students, this edition represents a semester’s work of creative labor.
This show was important to help “highlight creativity and what people are thinking… It’s people who could join together, come up with an idea and create something else,” first-year student Rebecca Picarelli said.
Second-year computer science major Alessandro Ruiz came to this show with zero expectations but left impressed by the intentionality of the show.
“I think it’s important to show just the level of talent we have at the university, and especially this organization, showing the level of creativity and how they bridge creativity with technical presentation,” Ruiz said.
As AI continues to evolve, Midas’ “Artifice” shows how students see themselves at the intersection of the impact technology has and creative expression.