An Aquarium of Machines: A Physically Realized Artificial Life Simulation

This paper describes the public art installation In Love With The World by artist Anicka Yi, which embodies a complex virtual ecosystem of autonomous agents in a physical space. The agents, called Aerobes, are inspired by the lifecycle of the Aurelia sp. jellyfish, and use artificial life techniques designed by the authors to simulate the behavior of two distinct phenotypes. These agents are embodied in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall using lighter-than-air soft robotics utilizing helium that can respond to museum visitors through sensors embedded in the space. By creating organic-looking fully autonomous agents that are capable of real-time interaction, we hope to create an experience that causes viewers to question what living with machines might feel like in a speculative far-future, and to imagine an alternative form of artificial intelligence that is neither threatening to humanity nor subservient to it, but exists in an altogether parallel track as a new form of life.