Beauty is a machine-microbial artwork that is based upon an artificial intelligence agent that uses deep reinforcement learning to interact with and alter cultures of pattern-forming social bacteria in order to make them more aesthetically pleasing. The work features a bio-driven artificial intelligence system that remediates a contaminated soil ecology while generating an audio-visual composition in real-time. It creates a situation where the fates of the contaminated soil and a group of bacterial cultures are determined by the whims of a deep reinforcement learning agent with an internal model of “beauty”. The agent builds its model by observing the cooperative pattern-forming behaviors of Paenibacillus sp and other bacteria that exhibit collective social motility, producing intricate growth patterns in response to environmental conditions. The agent then attempts to spatially modify the bacteria growth by introducing chemical attractants and repellents. Images of bacterial colony growth and movement are captured using time-lapse photography and analyzed by the agent to determine how well the colonies conform to its internal model of beauty. The more beautiful the growth patterns of the bacteria appear to the agent the more of a remediating solution the soil receives and the more nutrients the bacterial cultures receive.
Horario al público: 8:00am - 8:00 pm A partir del Martes 18 de octubre
