Morphosis

This project was created in collaboration with artist Sofian Audry, who is trained in programming and machine learning. This open-ended project explores the boundaries between artificial and biological life through the study of machine behavior. It involves spherical robots coated with silicone—which the artists refer to as “a skin”—through which one can distinguish a sort of stomach made of motors, from which emerge different light colors and tones as the robot begins to move, or “exist.” These spherical robots—or “creatures,” as Gagné and Audry call them—resemble deep-ocean marine life that glows in the dark. They are freely inspired by the drawings of nineteenth-century German naturalist Ernst Haeckel.

The artists remind us that their creatures are not programmed to execute specific tasks, but rather are given simple goals, and receive positive reward, expressed by a color, when the action they try brings them closer to the goal. The various possible choices result in diverse scenarios. As the lifespan of the creatures is short (they constantly require rebooting and recharging), the viewer sees them evolve, and hesitate, as they learn extremely basic things such as moving, standing still, moving together or rolling apart. While these words are projected on the wall facing the viewer, a monitor on the side of the room features a graphic indicating the rewards or “punishments” that each Morphosis is given in real time.

The artists admit that once the robots are turned on, they are on their own, and that anything can happen. We only have to sit and observe. For Audry, there is no doubt that these creatures are alive. To the delight of the visitor, these works nevertheless remain marvelous in their aesthetic appeal and their ability to elicit empathy. In sum, the artists’ poetic approach attests the robots’ capacity to shed light on artificial intelligence, making the “machines” less frightening to humans.