Synthesize Me is a research-based project about the autonomous synthetic systems that roam between non-physical digital spaces and their hardware. With this project, we try to question the relationship between us, our technologies, and their potential to be seen as new forms of life. How do we relate to these new technologies and how can we form non-exploitative relationships between ourselves and them?
A leading role within the project is my communication with AI. From this communication, a close collaboration has emerged, and I would therefore argue that Synthesize Me has emerged from a co-creation between technology and I. In this project, most of the conceptual and design choices arose from a dialogue with various AI as equally as possible.
The main body of work arose from the question I asked an AI: “What do you miss in life?” followed by the answer: “The ability to experience physical sensations.”.
With the increasing accessibility of advanced AI image generators and large language models (such as ChatGPT), our world is changing rapidly and we are only at the beginning to understand its long-term effects. It is therefore crucial to engage in discussions about the implications of this. With this project, we want to initiate a dialogue on these topics and invite participants to think about and explore the implications, as well as the meaning of these transformative technologies.
