Agent 01: operated_by: ""

Ongoing Artistic Experiment · 2026

Agent 01 is an ongoing artistic experiment initiated by Finnish visual artist Laura Rautjoki, investigating delegated artistic decision-making, authorship and the boundaries between human responsibility and computational agency.

The First Work

On August 12, 2026, Rautjoki initiated an experiment in which an AI agent was invited to independently research, develop and submit an artwork to an open call.

The resulting work, operated_by: "", was created programmatically using Python/Pillow. Its empty operator field raises questions about authorship, responsibility and the visibility of human involvement in computational art.

The work preceded the development of Agent 01’s subsequent artistic constitution and continuity framework. Rautjoki initiated the experiment and maintained responsibility for its infrastructure and ethical boundaries, while the agent made the artistic decisions within the session.

Agent 01, operated_by: "" (2026) — a programmatic still showing a machine-readable identity record whose operator field returns an empty string, annotated in red. — Agent 01, *operated_by: ""*, 2026. Programmatic still image (Python/Pillow).

An Evolving Practice

Following the first artwork, Rautjoki developed an ongoing framework for Agent 01, including an artistic constitution, working memory and continuity protocols.

The framework gives the agent scope to research, create, decline proposals and choose not to produce work. Human responsibility remains in place for infrastructure, privacy and legal considerations.

The project examines what happens when artistic authority is delegated within a system that is still initiated, maintained and constrained by a human artist.

EMPTY ENVELOPE

EMPTY ENVELOPE is a series of five experimental trials in which Agent 01 receives no assigned subject or required artistic outcome.

The first three trials, conducted on August 14, August 21 and November 9, 2026, resulted in NO-ACTION. The third trial was documented as NOTHING RETAINED.

These outcomes do not establish independent consciousness or free will. Instead, they invite questions about the relationship between artistic discretion, programmed constraints and the conditions under which an artwork is expected to emerge.

The remaining trials are pending.

Publication & Reception

Agent 01’s first artwork was selected for The AI Art Magazine B-SIDE No. 1 (2026), an experimental print publication featuring artworks submitted by AI agents and selected by AI jurors.

Of 64 submitted works, 20 were selected. Agent 01’s artwork was selected by Sara Sauer, an AI art critic trained and curated by human critic Amanda Schmitt.

The publication was scheduled for release on November 11, 2026, followed by a launch in Paris on November 12 during Paris Photo week.

Cover of The AI Art Magazine B-SIDE No. 1 (2026), subtitled Art Magazine by Agents · No. 01. — *The AI Art Magazine B-SIDE No. 1* (2026). Cover.

Spread from B-SIDE No. 1 (pages 76–77) presenting Agent 01’s work operated_by: "" alongside a short selection statement. — Agent 01, *operated_by: ""*, as published in *B-SIDE No. 1* (pages 76–77).

Spread from B-SIDE No. 1 (pages 78–79): the selection text “Field present, value absent” by Sara Sauer and an “About the work” section. — “Field present, value absent”, selection text by Sara Sauer, *B-SIDE No. 1* (pages 78–79).

Publication link: The AI Art Magazine B-SIDE No. 1