Future of Ecosystems Prize / Data Visualization Prize
Aquaterrestrial Recolonization
College For Creative Studies, Detroit, United States / University of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas / AI.R Lab, United States
Description
In the Aquaterrestrial Recolonization, we are recording the current state of the surrounding dead coral reefs and feeding AI with that data to visualize a recolonized ocean floor; calculated imaging, returning to the planet parts mankind has destroyed. In our project, we are using AI as the planet Earth’s protector from further devastations. We are driven by the idea that maybe it is time to give to another intelligent entity based on logic and calculations rather than being greedy and careless.
Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea.
There are numerous scientific reports showing that coral reefs, which are are a crucial part of our planet’s ecosystem – and our existence, have been significantly jeopardised by increased pollution and the adverse effects of climate change. Reef systems are irreplaceable resources of food for a quarter of the ocean’s marine life and play an important role in the generation of clean air and the protection of vulnerable coastlines against erosion, flooding and st orms.
The coral reefs on this planet are dying due to pollution and climate change! Besides, the geographical position and geological composition of The Bahamas places the archipelago at the centre of an ecological/environmental disaster; one in which dire consequences, directly and indirectly, affect numerous sectors of human society such as the economy.
Project Aquaterrestrial Recolonization is a joint effort of a group of artists based in the Bahamas proactively responding to rising climate change concerns. We are recording the current state of the surrounding dead coral reefs and feeding AI with that data to visualize a recolonized ocean floor; a calculated imaging, returning to the planet parts mankind has destroyed. In our project, we are using AI as the planet Earth’s protector, from further devastations. Throughout history, human civilisation has been ignorant and often motivated only by profit and exploitation to take us to the point of watching our planet dying. We are driven with idea that maybe it is time to give to another intelligent entity, based on logic and calculations rather than being greedy and careless.
We are using AI technology to generate new coral reefs, and confront the audience with what we lost, where we are at the moment and what needs to be rebuilt to preserve our planet for the next generations. /
Link
Comments from Judges
Atsuko Ogawa
Loftwork KyotoArt Director
Future of Ecosystems Prize
未来を可視化するというアート的思考を海底の世界を結びつけ、希望に満ちたかつ独自の世界観で魅せるやり方、さらに社会課題である環境汚染、海洋汚染の問題としっかりとかつポジティブに結びつけながらも、一つの生態系としてやわらかに捉えている点が素晴らしいと感じました。ただし、さらに課題解決に結びつけるには、より高い知見と技術を導入する必要があると思います。このPJに賛同する「知恵」が集約する、まさに人間の知恵と地球の知恵が一体化され、未来の可視化が実現されるのではないか？という期待も込めて、選定させていただきました。
Kousuke Kinoshita
FabCafe Kyoto MTRL Marketing and Production
Data Visualization Prize
This felt to me like a valid approach to saving coral reefs. It uses AI to visualize what coral reefs are supposed to look like in their natural state, so we intuitively grasp the need for conservation and restoration. I’d like to know how this data can be used effectively and how we might design human interventions aimed at reversing the damage done to reefs by rising sea temperatures and pollution. I’d also like to hear more about coral regeneration efforts such as transplantation and cultivation, and how this project might be linked to them in future.
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