INTERSPECIFICS AT SETI X AI
PROJECT PROPOSAL

The project stands on the idea of cooperation to expand on the concept of intelligence by including machine and non-human agents into its configuration. And intends to articulate new schemes for the social imaginary to picture life outside the planet, and to better appreciate life on earth.
How can complexity outburst from simple dynamical systems when represented using convolutional neural networks?
What forms can arise from training creative algorithms with pattern-forming bacteria in spatially explicit environments and extremophile morphology modeling?
Two possible outcomes for presenting this project, which will be determined by the Covid-19 situation are: a. A site-specific immersive visual installation. b. An interactive online web/mobile site/app. In both cases displaying the complete organism collection, extensive process description, and DIY tutorials for people to replicate in a citizen science manner.
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiogenesis b. https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.02942 c.https://openaccess.thecvf.com/content_CVPR_2020/papers/Aich_Non-Adversarial_Video_Synthesis_With_Learned_Priors_CVPR_2020_paper.pdf



- The sources: from which we take characteristics biotic and virtual.
- The feedback: to retro control the cellular automata by integration of new rules.
- The virtual life generated: represented in a taxonomic way.

We have referenced Seti as an influence for our own artistic research on several occasions, such as in the creation of our fictional organization called Siti (Search for intraterrestrial intelligence) in which we studied bacterial patterns as a form of non-human communication, a project later called Speculative Communications (b). We understand Seti’s existence as a form of resistance, and as an important influence for future generations, outside and within the mainstream scientific community.
For this particular project we aim to gather data information from three specific, although not exclusively, lines of research:
- Extremophiles and how ‘by studying conditions under which life can thrive, we hope to understand life elsewhere – where to look for it and what it could look like’ or simply to hypothesize if it would be possible for life to evolve and survive on other planetary bodies’ (c).
- Complexity modelling and ‘how can the communication methods [and morphology] of other terrestrial species help us to recognize [and model] intelligence that might exist elsewhere in the cosmos’ (d).
- Complex life in other planets and how ‘numerous articles have reported weird anomalies in the atmosphere of Mars, from an outburst of methane in June 2019 to patterns in oxygen concentrations that cannot be explained by any known, atmospheric or surface, processes on the Red Planet’ (e).
- https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/life-as-we-know-it-an-interview-with-jill-tarter/
- http://interspecifics.cc/work/speculative-communications-2017/
- https://www.seti.org/event/seti-talks-virtual-edition-extremophiles-extreme-life-other-worlds
- https://seti.org/life-complexity
- https://seti.org/event/are-we-about-find-life-mars
4 week SETI residency:
- Interviews with astrobiologists on extremophiles.
- Interviews on possible SETI databases
- Interviews on models and complexity
- Start arrangements on GAN environment
- Start arrangements of the Cellular Automatas
- Programming Computer vision systems
- Gather databases
- Discussion of model with AI LAB team
- Model automatization
- Start training proces
- Model adjustments
- Start definition process for final outcome
- Start programming for virtual environment
- First stage result presentation
- Finish model adjustments
- Training continues
- Programming model for classification
- Finish programming of the virtual environment
- Final result presentation either web format or physical installation.
- GAN Environment: Python, Tensorflow, Cuda
- Cellular automata: Python, Openframeworks, C++
- ComputerVision: Python, OpenCV
- Installation setup: Touch Designer, Python
- Web: Three.js, D3.js P5.js
- GAN Environment: 1,400 €
- Cellular automata: 1,400 €
- ComputerVision: 1,400 €
- Installation setup: 1,400 €
- Website js react: 1,400 €
Members:
Leslie García. Tijuana Mx, 1984. Former associate researcher, Nano Laboratory Nucleus, Fine Arts School, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro. Former artistic researcher Media Environments department, Bauhaus University Weimar. Fellow of the National Fund for Culture and the Arts of Mexico. A former fellow of the DAAD artist in Berlin. She is an electronic sound artist and digital media developer. She explores the fusion process between art and technology, using techniques such as electronic prototyping, audio production, net.art, hardware development, and biological interfaces. She is a co-founder and artistic director of bio-art collective Interspecifics, founder of electronic media collective DreamAddictive, and co-founder of Astrovandalistas. http://lessnullvoid.cc/content/
Paloma López Ramírez. Guadalajara Mx, 1979. Graduated in Communication Sciences, MA in Cultural & Creative Entrepreneurship. Independent researcher founder of Interspecifics focused on bridging artistic exploration methodologies with experimental scientific practices. She has studied potential non-human forms of communication by transducing biosignals from bacteria and slime mold into sound and within the morphology of pattern-forming bacteria. A former fellow of the European network ECAS (European Cities for Advanced Sound), and Edgar Varèse 2022 chair professor at the Technical University of Berlin.
Emmanuel Anguiano Hernández. Puebla Mx, 1984. MSc by National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electrónics. His work focuses on natural language processing, specifically on statistical language and communication modeling. Worked at Language Sciences Laboratory from 2010 to 2015 developing user profiling algorithms for social networks and publishing articles on specialized journals and conferences as Advances on Artificial Intelligence and Iberoamer- ican Society for Artificial Intelligence Conference. Currently part of Interspecifics, Art Science and Technology Collective, and Binocular Studio developing human computer interfaces, and interactive multimedia experi- ences. www.binocularstudio.xyz/u/emme
Felipe Rebolledo Carvajal. Santiago Ch, 1983. Graduated in Architecture. He has studied in Lighting and Industrial Design, the latter being the main focus of his professional work. Parallel to this, he is currently studying new forms of data visualization through the exploration of audiovisual pieces.He has been involved in various new media and art-sci- ence-technology projects, exhibitions, and residencies. He is currently part of the Interspecifics collective, based in Mexico City.
Carles Tardío Pi Barcelona Sp, 1985. Graduate in Physics, MsC in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media and PhD in Music Tech- nology. He is actually focused in the study of non-chemcial communication mechanisms and pattern for- mation dynamics of bacterial colonies at Synthetic and Systems Biology Laboratory at Centro de Ciencias Genómicas and Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas y Sistemas at UNAM. He is also a researcher within the Art, Science and Complexity Group at Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad UNAM, where he ex- plores emergent phenomena properties within the sonic domains. He has been involved in several new media and art-science projects, exhibitions and residencies and he is actually co-leading the Laboratorio de Medios Inestables in Mexico City. (https://carlestapi.hotglue.me/)
Maro Pebo. Mexico City, 1987. PhD in Creative Media (HK) ,MA in Gender Studies (IT) and BA in Art History (MX). Specializes in the intersections of art, science, and biotechnology. Her current interest lies in microorganisms’ culture and a microbial posthuman turn. Senior lecturer in Moist Media at the DeTao Masters Academy SIVA Shanghai. Maro has presented her research internationally including at ISEA, EVA, ISCMA and Media Art Histories, co-curated the Open Systems salon, the HK Leonardo Art Science Rendezvous and was involved in the Mexican Pavilion of the 56th Venice Biennale. Currently working on fostering post-anthropocentric microbiology literacy in society.