[-empyre-] andy gracie (hostprods) introduction

[hostprods <andy@hostprods.net>]

hi all, it¹s a pleasure to be an invited empyre guest and I¹m looking
forward to a month of stimulating discussion and virtual cigar smoking - so
here¹s my introduction and a little of what I¹m about.
 
My work (in collaboration with AI designer Brian Lee Yung Rowe) is an
attempt to uncover the systems of intelligence and information lodged at
various levels in various examples of what are commonly regarded as simple
life forms ­ insects, fish, microbes etc. By deconstructing symbiotic and
parasitic relationships and inserting artificial agents into the loop we
hope to promote emergent behaviours that discover or evolve novel forms of
machine-nature communication and examine their inherent data and cognitive
structures. We hope that via such processes we can facilitate new modes of
approaching and understanding the techno-organic environment. With the
continuous introduction of the man-made, artificial and chimeric into the
natural environment and the gradual convergence of wetware, software and
hardware it is worthwhile to explore the adaptive reactions of ecosystems
and the possibility of new data types suggested by machine-nature
interactions.
 
While connections with the notion of the cyborg are inevitable, I am more
interested in discussion on the wider issues of the junctions between
organic and inorganic, natural and artificial. Iam more interested in how
relationships are formed or mediated via the exchange of data than in how a
single agent can be augmented or "improved".

Maybe my first questions should be the main questions I consider when making
my work; 
What constitutes our notion of ?being¹ and how are awareness and
consciousness embodied through information networks?
How are intelligence, information and cognitive processes expressed in the
most basic units or forms of life?
Can cooperative organic processes also be viewed as a form of "organic
intelligence" that can be harnessed as a new computing medium?
What are the practical and conceptual consequences of creating
bio-artificial environments that promote a collective intelligence that
embodies parasitism or symbiosis?


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