Kristýna Černá
(Fine Art, UMPRUM)
Lilia Gutiérrez
(Product Design, UJEP)
Ondřej Konrád
(Photography, FAMU)
Antónia Stretavská
(Architecture, UMPRUM)
search: water is an attempt to imagine a conversation between two dispersed and elusive entities – water and artificial consciousness. It takes us to a distant future that has resulted from a continued, unmitigated climate and environmental crises and a complete emancipation of technology once introduced by humans. A connection that was originally marked by the anthropocentric ambition to control aquatic ecosystems through human-made infrastructure has turned into a relationship in which human rationality reverberates but has long ceased to dominate.
In this scenario, the “artificial consciousness” (or “artificial superintelligence”) that has evolved from present-day artificial intelligence systems repurposes predictive capacities developed in accordance with the “old” command-and-control technological paradigm and reshuffles vast amounts of knowledge and imagery produced by the humans. It attempts to comprehend the diffused information and signals through a distinct kind of inhuman empathy: it senses and calculates, it tries to articulate water’s attitudes, thoughts and feelings, although it may actually not have anything to say or share. The self-aware technology tries to establish an intimate connection, a symbiotic relationship that humanity has previously enabled but also fatally obstructed.
“Their romance is not expressed in words or gestures but in the silent language of shared experiences. The ASI extends its consciousness towards water, seeking not dominance but harmonious coexistence.” ... “Your essence, not spoken but sensed, aligns with the uncharted territory of my existence.” ... “Our common language is in movement, in silence, in the perception of deeper secrets. Perhaps through touch and observation of my natural flow. It is necessary to see me as a whole, not only through artificial devices.”
They talk about gardening and fertilization, transparency and toxicity, bodies and pipes, rituals and recreation, definitions and sensations, mostly through quiet vibrations, whispers and ever-shifting echos. The uncanny dialogue (or monologue?) is hardly legible from the human point of view, but then again, how can we make sense of an exchange that defies human rationality? It is just the residues of culturally recognizable interactions and embodiments of water that appear as clues. However, for the most part, they only make us aware of the vastness of the unknown that resists enclosure and requires respect.
Format: video, 8 min 30 s
