Embodied Evolution of Artificial Cells in a Hybrid Wet/Hard-ware Platform

No abstract available

Utelovljenje Metaverzuma kao arificijelnog života: na preseku medijskih i 4E kognitivnih teorija

In the last decades of the 20th century we have seen media theories and cognitive sciences grow, mature and reach their pinnacles by analysing, each from their own disciplinary perspective, two of the same core phenomena: that of media as the environment, transmitter and creator of stimuli, and that of embodied human mind as the stimuli receiver, interpreter, experiencer, and also how both are affected by each other. Even though treating a range of very similar problems and coming to similar conclusions, this still has not brought these two disciplines closer together or resulted in their interdisciplinary approach. They did coalesce in regards to traditional media such as film, but more points of connection are needed for untangling interactive and immersive media environments and their effects on human cognition, action, and perception. With the rise of VR and VR-like systems, especially as they start to evolve into the Metaverse as their main platform of interconnectivity, the tissue of the body becomes almost physically intertwined with that of the virtual surrounding it inhabits through immersion. Simultaneously, the interest in these disciplines arises anew, and especially the need to use their concepts in an interdisciplinary way. This paper’s main interest is to bring these disciplines together in problematising the position of a physical body and its sensory-motor capabilities and their development within synthetic surroundings as Metaverse and anticipate potential downsides of Metaverse’s uncontrolled growth. We will do so also by looking into Metaverse as an artificial-life-like phenomenon, following artificial-life rules and evolving a completely new ‘corporeality’, a body which is completely adapted to virtual spaces. We call this body the Dry Body, an entity sharing cognitive resources with the physical body it is not a physical part of, but has to extend to.U poslednjim decenijama 20. veka videli smo kako medijske teorije i kognitivne nauke rastu, sazrevaju i dostižu svoje vrhunce analizirajući, svaki iz svoje disciplinske perspektive, dva srodna osnovna fenomena: medije kao okruženje, prenosioce i kreatore stimulusa i otelovljeni ljudski um u dinamičnoj interakciji sa okruženjem, kao i načine na koje mediji i um utiču na i transformišu jedno drugo. Iako tretiraju čitav niz veoma sličnih problema i dolaze do sličnih zaključaka, to ipak nije dovoljno približilo ove dve discipline niti je rezultiralo njihovim interdisciplinarnim pristupom rešavanju ovih pitanja. Pomak je napravljen kroz kognitivne teorije medija u kojima je fokus uglavnom na tradicionalnim medijskim formama poput filma. Ipak, potrebno je uspostavljanje više tačaka povezivanja za rasplet interaktivnih i imerzivnih medijskih okruženja i njihovih efekata na ljudsku kogniciju, akciju i percepciju. Sa usponom sistema virtuelne realnosti (VR), posebno u trenutku kada počinju da evoluiraju u Metaverzum kao svoju glavnu platformu povezivanja, tkivo tela postaje gotovo fizički isprepleteno sa tkivom virtuelnog okruženja u kom egzistira kroz uranjanje. Istovremeno sa Metaverzumom, iznova se javlja interesovanje za ove dve discipline, a posebno potreba da se njihovi koncepti koriste na interdisciplinaran način. Cilj ovog rada je da spoji ove discipline u problematizaciji položaja fizičkog tela i njegovih senzorno-motoričkih sposobnosti i njihovog razvoja u sintetičkom okruženju kao što je Metaverzum, kao i da predvidi potencijalne negativne strane nekontrolisanog rasta Metaverzuma. Metaverzum ćemo posmatrati kao fenomen veštačkog života, prateći pravila veštačkog života i razvijajući potpuno novu „telesnost“, odnosno telo koje je potpuno prilagođeno virtuelnim prostorima. Ovo telo nazivamo Suvim telom. Ono je entitet koji deli kognitivne resurse sa fizičkim telom čiji nije fizički deo, već se na njega proširuje. Polazimo od premise da svaka nova, inovativna tehnologija u svom razvoju sledi pravila algoritama rasta, što znači da se njeno konačno ‘krajnje stanje’ nikada ne može znati ili predvideti unapred, kao ni promene koje ona donosi u postojeći svet i njegov ekosistem. Što je veća inovacija, to je veći uticaj i promena na stvarni stvarni svet i naša biološka tela u njemu. Metaverzum, kao krajnja tehnička inovacija u oblasti virtuelnosti i manifestacija veštačkog života koji evolutivno prioritizuje „suva tela“, nosi sa sobom značajne i nepredvidive načine na koje se naša biološka tela dalje koriste i razvijaju. Konačno, naglašavamo važnost kontrolisanog, praćenog i doziranog kognitivnog učešća u Metaverse-u, kako bi se uspostavio i sačuvao kognitivni balans između suvih tela i bioloških tela

Art as we don't know it

2018 marked the 10th anniversary of the Bioart Society and created the impetus for the publication of Art as We Don’t Know It. For this publication, the Bioart Society joined forces with the School of Arts, Design and Architecture of the Aalto University. The close history and ongoing collaborative relationship between the Bioart Society and Biofilia – Base for Biological Arts in the Aalto University lead to this mutual effort to celebrate together a diverse and nurturing environment to foster artistic practices on the intersection of art, science and society. Rather than stage a retrospective, we decided to invite writings that look forward and invite speculations about the potential directions of bioarts. The contributions range from peer-reviewed articles to personal accounts and inter-views, interspersed with artistic contributions and Bioart Society projects. The selection offers a purview of the rich variety, both in content and form, of the work currently being made within the field of bioart. The works and articles clearly trouble the porous and provisional definitions of what might be understood as bioart, and indeed definitions of bioart have been usefully and generativity critiqued since the inception of the term. Whilst far from being definitive, we consider the contributions of the book to be tantalising and valuable indicators of trends, visions and impulses. We also invite into the reading of this publication a consideration of potential obsolescences knowing that some of today’s writing will become archaic over time as technologies driven by contemporary excitement and hype are discarded. In so doing we also acknowledge and ponder upon our situatedness and the partialness of our purview in how we begin and find points of departure from which to anticipate the unanticipated. Whilst declining the view of retrospection this book does present art and research that has grown and flourished within the wider network of both the Bioart Society and Biofilia during the previous decade. The book is structured into four thematic sections Life As We Don’t Know It, Convergences, Learnings/Unlearnings, Redraw and Refigure and rounded off with a glossary

Brain-Inspired Organic Electronics:Merging Neuromorphic Computing and Bioelectronics Using Conductive Polymers

Neuromorphic computing offers the opportunity to curtail the huge energy demands of modern artificial intelligence (AI) applications by implementing computations into new, brain-inspired computing architectures. However, the lack of fabrication processes able to integrate several computing units into monolithic systems and the need for new, hardware-tailored training algorithms still limit the scope of application and performance of neuromorphic hardware. Recent advancements in the field of organic transistors present new opportunities for neuromorphic systems and smart sensing applications, thanks to their unique properties such as neuromorphic behavior, low-voltage operation, and mixed ionic-electronic conductivity. Organic neuromorphic transistors push the boundaries of energy efficient brain-inspired hardware AI, facilitating decentralized on-chip learning and serving as a foundation for the advancement of closed-loop intelligent systems in the next generation. The biocompatibility and dual ionic-electronic conductivity of organic materials introduce new prospects for biointegration and bioelectronics. Their ability to sense and regulate biosystems, as well as their neuro-inspired functions can be combined with neuromorphic computing to create the next-generation of bioelectronics. These systems will be able to seamlessly interact with biological systems and locally compute biosignals in a relevant matter

(RE)embodying biotechnology : towards the democratization of biotechnology through embodied art practices

Contemporary discourse surrounding biotechnology places great emphasis on digital metaphors in describing the biological sciences. In these discourses it is as if mankind's 'cumulative' technology - computation - performs the ultimate science, the dominion of man over nature through the application of numeric code to living organism. This general application of computational models to instances of biotechnology provides a sterilizing affect, removing all that is wet, bloody, unruly, and animal, from mass imaginations of the biotech future. As I argue this vision of biotechnology (as it is presented to non-specialists) may serve to nullify public engagement in the complex ethical dilemmas that arise from engaging in technologies of the body. (RE)embodying Biotechnology focuses. on reuniting notions of embodiment with the language, analysis, practice, and representation of contemporary biotechnologies. With a social and political mandate that advocates informed public discourse, (RE)embodying Biotechnology complicates, rather than simplify our understanding of the biotech field. Methodologically, I propose artistic means for non-specialists to engage in biotechnology as an embodied practice through the mobilization of a 'critical participatory methodology'. (RE)embodying Biotechnology is a research I creation thesis; comprised of the documentation of a body of work and a text that reflects on how artistic engagement in the biotechnological field may allow for non-specialists to engage critically with evolving biotechnologies

Application of advanced technology to space automation

Automated operations in space provide the key to optimized mission design and data acquisition at minimum cost for the future. The results of this study strongly accentuate this statement and should provide further incentive for immediate development of specific automtion technology as defined herein. Essential automation technology requirements were identified for future programs. The study was undertaken to address the future role of automation in the space program, the potential benefits to be derived, and the technology efforts that should be directed toward obtaining these benefits