Robot Dogs with Celebrity Faces Challenge Our Tech-Filtered Reality in Berlin Art Exhibition

Robot dogs sporting hyper-realistic silicone heads of tech titans and iconic artists are roaming Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, periodically “defecating” AI-transformed images in a provocative art installation exploring how technology shapes our perception of reality.

The interactive exhibit titled “Regular Animals” by American digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) features robot canines with the heads of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picasso, among others. The mechanical animals capture their surroundings with built-in cameras, then produce printed images filtered through algorithms that mimic their namesake’s perspective – the Picasso dog creates Cubist interpretations while Warhol’s produces pop art renderings.

“In the past, our view of the world was shaped in part by how artists saw the world,” Beeple explained in an interview with the Associated Press. “How Picasso painted changed how we saw the world, how Warhol talked about consumerism, pop culture, that changed how we saw those things.”

The installation serves as commentary on the unprecedented power wielded by tech executives who control the algorithms dictating much of what we see online. Beeple argues that these modern influencers shape our worldview in ways we haven’t fully grasped.

“That’s an immense amount of power that I don’t think we’ve fully understood,” Beeple said. “Especially because when they want to make a change, they don’t need to lobby the U.N. They don’t need to get something through Congress or the EU, they just wake up and change these algorithms.”

Lisa Botti, the exhibition’s curator, emphasized museums’ role in fostering societal reflection on transformative technologies like artificial intelligence. “Museums are the places where society can reflect” on such changes, she explained, highlighting the importance of bringing Beeple’s work to a traditional art institution.

The installation, first shown at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, also includes robot dogs wearing Beeple’s own likeness, adding a layer of self-reference to the commentary on technology’s influence.

Beeple has established himself as a significant figure in digital art circles. The South Carolina-based graphic designer is known for his “everyday” movement in 3D graphics, creating and posting a new picture daily without fail for years. According to Christie’s auction house, he ranks as the third most expensive living artist to sell at auction, after David Hockney and Jeff Koons.

His breakthrough came in spring 2021 when his digital collage “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” sold for over $69 million at Christie’s. The auction marked the first time a major auction house offered a purely digital artwork with a non-fungible token (NFT) authenticating its originality, and the first time cryptocurrency was used for payment.

NFTs – digital certificates confirming authenticity through blockchain technology – emerged during the cryptocurrency boom as a method to verify digital collectibles.

At Art Basel 2025, Beeple distributed the robot-produced images to audience members with certificates reading “100% organic GMO-free dog shit.” Some prints included QR codes providing access to free NFTs, effectively giving away digital art that subjects could potentially monetize.

The Berlin exhibition challenges viewers to consider how technology gatekeepers influence our perception of reality – a timely exploration as AI increasingly filters our understanding of the world around us.