Ways of Computing

"Over the past eight decades, digital systems have been the only way of computing and calculating, impacting how and what is thought. Could the agency of living systems inspire alternative ways of computing and alternative ways of thinking?
Ways of Computing considers the possibilities of non-digital computing systems. An interactive installation combines Generative Artificial Intelligence with the biological computing capacities of mycelium. In this crafted hybrid system, the bio-signals produced by mycelium are converted into digital values that are used as AI parameters.
For creative tasks such as image generation, digital systems rely on chaos — a seemingly random output that is actually governed by underlying laws. The bio-signals introduce an external source of genuine randomness. Drawing attention to the difference between randomness and chaos, the project suggests that perceived randomness might merely mirror our ecological ignorance."