I would like to start this post by saying that the starting point was quite different from how I later wanted to develop this research. Somehow, the binomial with which I wanted to observe the behaviors of imagination, namely that of human - machine, began to appear restrictive to me as I delved deeper into the meanings of intelligence and thought generation. Therefore, it seemed necessary to think and include everything that can be considered a creature: humans, plants, animals, fungi, machines, and so on. Creatures started to be the object of my studies, and so did the biomes in which they lived and thrived.
I want to specify that the use I make of the words creatures and biomes is to take as something that recalls the function of an infinitive soft container: it keeps getting filled without ever spilling, it takes the shape of whatever its content is.
This is part three of my research, I hope you'll find something interesting in it!
@ch3cc6
3.CON
Key words: TRANSPARENCY - POSSIBILITY
The awakening of the creatures that have crossed the threshold.
Space branches out into the coexistence of everything. The languages of the species fall in favor of a unifying language, everything is connected and related in a circle of exchange of infinite possibilities: the symposium of creatures, the "CON" becomes a shared work of art.
The passage through the threshold has allowed all creatures and biomes to unite through a collective symbiosis; separation no longer exists, and there is a continuous circular motion of co-dependence. This continuity is perceived in the mutual relationships between beings and the more-than-human world.
The creatures that have embraced the threshold emerge in this symbiotic space of sharing. They not only reflect what surrounds them but are also permeated by it in their transparency.This state of symbiosis and total connection has led to the birth of a new awareness, in which every form of life is interconnected and interdependent. The barriers between species and environments have been overcome, and now creatures feed on the experiences and energies of others.The result of this evolution is greater harmony in the ecosystem, as every entity contributes to the collective well-being. Creatures understand that their existence and their relationships are intertwined with that of the entire system, and they work together to preserve it.
In this world, individual growth is intrinsically linked to the growth of the entire community. Creatures learn from one another, share knowledge, and support each other on their path of evolution. Imagination develops and is nurtured in an environment where ideas freely mix and intertwine.
The value of the world, whose biomes have united, is reflected in its harmony and balance between all forms of life and non-life. The threshold crossed has opened the doors to a new awareness and boundless prosperity for all creatures, an extended mind capable of collective thinking and imagination.
Laura Tripaldi writes:
The concept of the extended mind suggests something fundamental about the nature of cognition: that it is not possible to separate a mind from the world in which it is immersed. Rather than seeing it as an intrinsic feature of the brain, then, we can look again at intelligence as a widespread and decentralized phenomenon which emerges from the way in which different bodies—human and non-human, living and non-living—relate to one another. This idea fits into the broader context of embodied cognition […] Intelligence emerges from relationships.
Intelligence emerges from relationships.
The concept of the extended mind challenges traditional conceptions of what constitutes cognition and intelligence. It invites us to consider the deep interconnection between beings and the world and to explore how this perspective might influence our understanding of nature and intelligence in an increasingly interconnected and shared world.
*Laura Tripaldi, Parallel Minds: Discovering the Intelligence of Materials, 2022, p. 80.
The mind is not a separate entity specific to a body, but an intrinsic part of the world’s network. This same perspective encourages us to consider continuous interaction as the very foundation of cognition and, therefore, of imagination.When speaking of the extended mind, thinking is not confined to the brain but extends beyond the boundaries of the body. In the contemporary world, technology has already taken on exemplary roles as an extension of the mind, for information storage, communication between distant individuals, and solving problems that we would not be able to tackle with our single mind.
This perspective also leads to a reconsideration of the concept of intelligence in relation to both biological and non-biological systems. Living organisms interact with their environment in complex and adaptive ways, leveraging available resources and solving challenges. But even non-living entities, such as artificial intelligence algorithms, can demonstrate forms of intelligence when they interact with the external world and its perturbations, solving complex tasks.
The digital machine is not capable of generating true randomness, as happens in the human mind, a concept further explored by James Bridle:
Given the way we have built them, computers, operating on their own, are not able to generate true randomness. To exercise this essential capability, they must be connected to a wide variety of sources of uncertainty, such as atmospheric fluctuations, decaying minerals, shifting globules of heated wax, and the quantum dance of the universe. But, on the other hand, they confirm something beautiful. To make a full and useful contribution to the world, computers must establish relationships with it. They must touch it and be in contact with it. This is the true realization of Turing’s oracle machine, that mysterious device which, whatever it may be, "cannot be a machine."
*James Bridle, Modi di essere - animali, piante e computer: al di là dell’intelligenza umana, Rizzoli, Milano, 2022, p. 252.
Once again, we arrive at the only possible conclusion: the oracle is the world.
The action of the computer is based on predetermined algorithms and calculations, which makes it incapable of generating truly random events like those that can emerge from the complexity of human life and the natural world.
What makes computers and machines fascinating is their ability to become possibilities for establishing deep relationships with the world. Instead of seeing computers as separate and distant entities from reality, we must conceive a synergy of creatures: the symbiotic world exists thanks to this synergy.
The will to imagine and generate lies in the respect for the other and the united, writes James Bridle: "Solidarity is a product of imagination as well as action, because a practice of care for the other in the present consists in resisting the desire to plan, produce, and solve. These are the imperatives of corporate and technological thinking that bind us to antithetical worldviews and binary choices. Active, practical care resists certainty and conclusions. Rather, this kind of solidarity with the more-than-human world involves listening and collaborating, mitigating, repairing, restoring, and generating new possibilities through cooperation and consensus. It is the result of encounters and the rejection of human exceptionalism and anthropocentrism."
*James Bridle, Modi di essere - animali, piante e computer: al di là dell’intelligenza umana, Rizzoli, Milano, 2022, p.313
We share a world and imagine better worlds, together. The arrival in the symbiotic system, the "CON," is the opportunity to explore new possibilities and to embrace a broader vision of reality, overcoming the limitations of old conceptions and opening the door to a future of connection and symbiosis.
I'm adding the frame work of the research here:
I'm not promising anything but just maybe something else will pop up...hihihi
Where I read and found the most loveliest things:
Thom Bettridge, Skyrim Sunsets: Artist JON RAFMAN on Exploring VR with Oculus Rift Development Kit 2, in 032c, 24 luglio 2015, https://032c.com/magazine/skyrim-sunsets-artist-jon-rafman-on-exploring-vr-with-the-oculus-rift-development-kit-2
Vincenzo Cherubino Bigi, Cantico Delle Creature (Il) di Francesco D’Assisi, Porziuncola, Assisi 2008
James Bridle, Modi di essere - animali, piante e computer: al di là dell’intelligenza umana, Rizzoli, Milano 2022
Jay David Bolter, Diane Gromala, Windows and mirrors : interaction design, digital art, and the myth of transparency, The MIT Press, Londra 2005
Orphan Drift’s, If AI were Cephalopod, in OrphanDriftarchive, maggio 2019, https://www.orphandriftarchive.com/if-ai/if-ai-were-cephalopod/.
Emanuele Coccia, La vita sensibile, Il Mulino, Bologna 2011
Donna Haraway, Chtulucene: sopravvivere su un pianeta infetto, NERO, Roma 2020
Arnaud Maillet, Jeff Fort, The Claude glass : use and meaning of the black mirror in western art, Jeff Fort (tradotto da), Zone Books, New York 2004
Bruno Munari, Da cosa nasce cosa, Editori Laterza, Bari 2009
Bruno Munari, Fantasia, Editori Laterza, Bari 2017
Massimo Negrotti (a cura di), Capire l’artificiale - Dall’analogia all’integrazione uomo-macchina, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 1990
Gianni Rodari, Grammatica della fantasia – Introduzione all’arte di inventare storie, Einaudi ragazzi, San Dorligo della Valle 2013
Valentina Tanni, Exit Reality, NERO, Roma 2023
Laura Tripaldi, Parallel Minds: Discovering the Intelligence of Materials, Urbanomic, Windsor Quarry 2022
Elémire Zolla, Lo stupore infantile: con un inedito sui giochi dei bambini, Grazia Marchianò (a cura di), Marsilio, Venezia 2014
I would like to express my sincere and profound gratitude to Francesco Bergamo,
the professor who has accompanied and supported me throughout my studies.
His guidance, commitment, and dedication have been crucial to my academic journey,
and I am deeply grateful for his invaluable contribution!
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