Nestled in the heart of Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood, a quirky new art show called Chat Haus turns a shop window into what looks like a luxe office—but with a twist. Everything you see, from the desks to the “people,” is made of plain cardboard, and tiny motors hidden inside animate the figures so it seems like they’re typing, talking on the phone or pausing for a sip of coffee. A bright sign near the entrance playfully advertises desk space for “only” $1,999 a month under the banner “A luxury co-working space for chatbots,” poking fun at both high rents and AI’s growing role in our world.
The artist behind Chat Haus is Brooklyn native Nim Ben-Reuven, a graphic designer and videographer who has slowly watched AI tools edge him out of freelance work. Rather than stew in frustration, he chose to tackle the rise of AI with a smile: by crafting a “coworking space” where cardboard robots—his so-called “cardboard babies”—clack away at keyboards as if powered by our endless prompts to ChatGPT. Ben-Reuven says he wanted to keep the mood light, believing humor draws in more curious eyes than a bitter rant ever could.
Cardboard is at the heart of the show’s message. It’s cheap, easy to shape and fun to look at—but it also bends and buckles under weight, a perfect metaphor for AI’s flimsy promise of true creativity. Up close, the robots’ flat faces and slipping joints remind viewers that AI may dazzle online, but under real pressure the work can collapse. Watching these bots work side by side in a makeshift office asks us to wonder: how solid are the ideas they churn out?
Since opening, Chat Haus has drawn all kinds of onlookers. Three millennial friends recently stopped to snap selfies, while a gaggle of elementary students peered in, whispering questions to their grown-ups. The exhibit sits right across from Pan Pan Vino Vino café, so patrons on coffee runs can pause and ponder the cardboard crew at any hour. Ben-Reuven even notes that the robots sometimes shift positions on their own, especially at night or in the late morning sun, adding a playful sense that the space truly has a mind of its own Instagram.
While the building that houses Chat Haus awaits renovation permits, the show is slated to stay on view through mid-May in the front window at 121 Norman Avenue. If all goes well, Ben-Reuven hopes to move the installation into a larger gallery and build on the idea—though he jokes about finding room for more cardboard babies once the show ends.
On his own website, Ben-Reuven describes Chat Haus as his “dream of creating a luxury co-working space exclusively for CHATBOTS and AI machine learning engines”—a satirical nod to sci-fi visions of a hive mind where chatbots share ideas as they power up for world domination. In a world rushing headlong toward automation, Chat Haus offers a moment of pause: a simple, fun space made of brown boxes where we can laugh, think and question the real strength behind these shiny new tools.
Whether you’re an AI skeptic, a tech fan or just someone looking for a smile on your daily walk, Chat Haus is worth a peek. Drop by 121 Norman Avenue before mid-May to see if these cardboard chatbots can inspire some real conversation.
Source: (Techcrunch & Greenpointers)
