When the software generates the autonomous behavior and the robot appears like a living puppy, the artificial life seems alive but it still has a distance to the carbon-based creatures. We do not enjoy eating the artificial life if they are made of digital or electronic gear. The project aims to extend the format of artificial life from digital to physical, even to the organic compound. The artificial life in the project is named and formed as a ‘Pixel’, that people can feed and can eat. Pixel is an unit of life inhabit the online ecosystem. It can belong to someone or can be abandoned. When the owners decide to kill their own Pixel, it leaves the screen and the food printer starts to print the edible Pixel in a cube form. The taste is based on the individual data including size, color, behavior, and the interaction with the owner. Every Pixel has an unique flavor. Once the printing is done, the data of this Pixel will be discarded. At this moment, the dead Pixel no longer moves on the screen, but it is static on a dish serving as a food. To digest the artificial life, it assimilates into our bodies providing nutrients. The time and energy we put on the virtual life eventually return to us.
Various types of creatures are around us but we do not eat all of them, depending on our different attachments. Farmers slaughter their animals rather than the pet owners. What is the role of the artificial life owners? Entertainment robots are asked for being taken care which elicits the love from the owner. Artificial pets are marked as a companion but this is not necessary. The concept of edible artificial life review the relationship problem between people and artificial life.
In the project, the online ecosystem will visualize the population and activity of all Pixels. Pixels can reproduce and the people can distribute the Pixels via sending. People participation will influence the development of the ecosystem. The domestic Pixel is displayed in a separated web page for the owner to interact with. Since the Pixel has no life-like appearance, how do we interpret the behavior of artificial life, from experience or from priori? Some artificial creatures appear with desire, emotions, feelings that have to be externalized and executed by action (i.e. corporeal movement, facial expression and semantic voice). To deconstruct the digital lives, they are not animals nor plants but they are numerous pixels. In the project, the gene code and the interaction with environment will generate the autonomous behavior (i.e. motion speed, direction, active area and color of a pixel). When the artificial life no longer has the familiar life form, it will be interesting to explore how do people understand the life-like behavior and what kind of emotional feelings is projected on a pixel.
This project has won the Vida 13.2 production award, from Fundacion Telefonica, and has been Finalist in IFVA 17 in Hong Kong arts Centre.
Has appeared also in “The next ideas” section of Ars Electronica.
Started as a colaboration with Fab Lab Barcelona.