Speculative Evolution, Prototype 1

Marc Lee

Switzerland

This speculative experiment explores a future ecosystem under rigorous control, set in a speculative simulation 30 years in the future. In this vision, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology collaborate to create an optimized environment for cultivated species.

The project, inspired by Elizabeth Kolbert's book “Under the White Sky” and accounts of life on a damaged planet, is based on three years of research and was partially developed during residencies in Berlin and Pakistan.

Through a mobile app, users are invited to generate new variations of animals, fungi, plants and robots, and to observe the changing ecosystem from the perspective of an artificial intelligence agent. The project reflects on our tendency to simplify complex ecosystems by treating nature as a system that can be fixed.