About exhibition

Flapper Said: Exploring the Future of Conversational AI is a multidisciplinary exhibition that investigates how machines speak and how we respond. At its centre is Flapper, a conversational AI based on Les Hughes (1884-1962), the legendary Collingwood Football Club player (1908–1922), affectionately nicknamed ‘Flapper’ for his animated presence on the field and later a celebrated Melbourne hotel publican.

In this exhibition, Flapper is brought into the present, inviting visitors into direct conversation and responding in real time with a mix of thoughtful observations, sharp wit and unexpected depth. Equal parts historian, commentator and comedian, he draws from history, cultural references and computational logic. His answers are informed by online resources alongside anecdotal and factual data specifically coded to reflect what the real Les Hughes might say today.

Emerging from research by Dr Russell Kennedy (School of Communication and Creative Arts and Deakin Motion Lab), Flapper Said explores what AI says and how and why it speaks, raising important questions about authorship, emotion, bias, and the desire for machines that understand us. What does it mean, in an era shaped by generative AI, for a machine to speak convincingly? Who, or what, owns that voice? And how do we respond when the line between human and machine begins to blur?

Flapper Said reflects a moment of collective reckoning. As we create more capable conversational agents, immersive simulations and AI-driven decision systems, we must keep asking: What does it mean to speak, to listen, to understand? And what kind of future are we designing for humans, for machines, and for the conversations they will share?

Collaborators

Presented in collaboration with the School of Communication and Creative Arts and Deakin Motion Lab.

This exhibition is part of Melbourne Design Week 2026, an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.