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country_without_men [2018/04/06 19:39] – [background] amicountry_without_men [2018/04/06 20:11] (current) – [abstract: a country without men] ami
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 A Country without Men is a critical, speculative project.  A Country without Men is a critical, speculative project. 
 What is the future of our offspring in times of Big Data and Synthetic Biology? The project poses questions and raises awareness via artistic research built upon a scientific basis. It’s a game of probabilities. What is the future of our offspring in times of Big Data and Synthetic Biology? The project poses questions and raises awareness via artistic research built upon a scientific basis. It’s a game of probabilities.
-=====background=====+
 For most of the past decade I have been working with bees and I have been growing, hacking, digitizing, building, and thinking about alternative beehives for urban areas. I based my ideas for this new project upon the structure of a bee colony's matriarchal society, where the queen, once in her lifetime, mates with ± 12 drones and then stores their sperm in her spermotheca to make use of it during 5 years to fertilize up to 2000 eggs a day. All these fertilized eggs become worker bees. They are all female, and they are all half-sisters. A bee colony is a female society where the male drones are only good for courting the young queens, and if they are lucky, mate with one if they are smarter and faster than their competitors. After this act, they die.  For most of the past decade I have been working with bees and I have been growing, hacking, digitizing, building, and thinking about alternative beehives for urban areas. I based my ideas for this new project upon the structure of a bee colony's matriarchal society, where the queen, once in her lifetime, mates with ± 12 drones and then stores their sperm in her spermotheca to make use of it during 5 years to fertilize up to 2000 eggs a day. All these fertilized eggs become worker bees. They are all female, and they are all half-sisters. A bee colony is a female society where the male drones are only good for courting the young queens, and if they are lucky, mate with one if they are smarter and faster than their competitors. After this act, they die. 
  
-The thinking about a similar matriarchal structure for our future human society is at the basis of this research project. With the digital era in full swing, rules of kinship, courtship and family structures are completely changed from 100 years ago. There were in former times individual, direct and very personal experiences at the basis of a love affair and family structure, dating & love in our contemporary society seems to be evolving towards a complete digital, online experience. Social media, avatars, online dating, online sex. Combine these facts with the growing attention for and knowledge of biotechnology and synthetic biology, and 'designer babies' are not that far away anymore. We are talking about alternative models of reproduction, scanning novel biotechnological possibilities and thereby raising __ethical questions__. How will a matriarchal society influence our identity? __Biological questions.__+The thinking about a similar matriarchal structure for our future human society is at the basis of this research project. With the digital era in full swing, rules of kinship, courtship and family structures are completely changed from 100 years ago. There were in former times individual, direct and very personal experiences at the basis of a love affair and family structure, dating & love in our contemporary society seems to be evolving towards a complete digital, online experience. Social media, avatars, online dating, online sex. Combine these facts with the growing attention for and knowledge of biotechnology and synthetic biology, and 'designer babies' are not that far away anymore. We are talking about alternative models of reproduction, scanning novel biotechnological possibilities and thereby raising ethical (Can humans design evolution?) and biological (What if the choice for specific qualities cause proliferation?) questions. How will a matriarchal society influence our identity? 
  
  
-**Methodology:** +**Methodology for art/science research:** 
 Build a database of Men -or better: a database of their inner and outer qualities. The DNA of every man in the catalogue is sequenced. All men's cognitive and physiognomical qualities are described and related to their DNA. Then it's just a CRISPR-cas9 away to combine them into your ideal baby! The more sperm data is available, the more possibilities for the perfect match.'The buyer' selects some criteria from the database and an AI algorithm starts a search in the 'available data'and makes some propositions which are visualized in a 'custom-designed baby'. Build a database of Men -or better: a database of their inner and outer qualities. The DNA of every man in the catalogue is sequenced. All men's cognitive and physiognomical qualities are described and related to their DNA. Then it's just a CRISPR-cas9 away to combine them into your ideal baby! The more sperm data is available, the more possibilities for the perfect match.'The buyer' selects some criteria from the database and an AI algorithm starts a search in the 'available data'and makes some propositions which are visualized in a 'custom-designed baby'.
  
-  * datamining of men, face recognition (facebook, advertising, pop culture, movies, fashion, newspapers) +  * datamining of men, face recognition (social media, newssites, entertainment websites, advertising, fashion industry,...) 
-  * building databases and categories +  * building a database and categories 
-  * analysis of the fenotypes +  * AI algorithms extract specific physiognomies (tall/short, colour of skin, eyes, nose, mouth, ....) 
-  * fake DNA sequencing +  * analysis & description of the fenotypes 
-  * synthetic biology+  * (fake) DNA sequencing - I can write an open call for participation ... 
 +  * (synthetic) biology - pairing the qualities with specific sequences in the DNA
   * make 'top ten' propositions to 'buyers' via randomizing algorithms   * make 'top ten' propositions to 'buyers' via randomizing algorithms
-  * visualizing +  * visualizing possible designer babies via randomizing algorithms 
-  *  ... +  
- +research risks & costs 
-=====artwork===== +  * collect data => privacy rules check
-  * datamining algorithms, face recognition (social media, newssites, popmusic websites, film websites, advertising, fashion industry, ... +
-  * AI algorithms extract specific physiognomies (tall/short, colour of skin, eyes, nose, mouth, .... +
-  * Cognitive qualities description +
-  * make database with classification + DNA sequences +
-  * which genes transmit which qualities? Scientific imagery, visualizations. +
-  * Database can do some propositions to buyer via randomizing algorithms. Visualizations on the fly. Changes possible. Compose your ideal man, work with the DNA of many! +
- +
-  * collect data => privacy rules+
   * store massive amount of data => where?   * store massive amount of data => where?
-  * mine useful information / data mining => computer scientist, AI +  * mine useful information / data analysis => computer scientist, AI 
-  * analyse data / AI algorithms +  * (synthetic) biologist, evolutionary biologist 
-  * instead of using sophisticated 3D animation (as might be expected with this kind of topic), the visualizations proposed by the database's algorithms draw back on 'analogue' medical imagery, a bit 'old school' graphics. To avoid problems with privacy rights, the faces of the Men in the database are processed with a grid of pixels so that similarities with existing (famous) people are gone (but we still can guess :). +  * to avoid problems with privacy rights, the faces of the Men in the database can be processed with a graphical treatment 
- +
-part 1: installation with research elements +
-  * laboratory +
-  * metal construction for hooking-up different experiments +
-  * medical imagery +
-  * interactive databases (cfr. Peopledatabase) +
-  * installation with new prototypes (e.g. spermatheca), strange objects, in vitro tubes, extensions to the body, fallic references, ... +
-  * stamboom van the country without men in een tapijt geweven+
  
-part 2: +**artwork presentations:** 
-  * Big Data Tapestry with novel materials (algae, bacteria, ...)+work part 1: installation with research elements 
 +  * laboratory with construction for hooking-up different experiments, new objects & prototypes (e.g. spermatheca, extensions to the body), in vitro tubes, ... 
 +  * online databases and (medical imagery video) animation of designer babies 
 +  * DIY-kits for DNA sequencing   
 +work part 2: 
 +  * Big Data Tapestry with made with novel materials (algae, bacteria, ...)
   * women's work is never done   * women's work is never done
   * reference towards technology of first computers (punch cards), jaquard, Ada Lovelace, ...   * reference towards technology of first computers (punch cards), jaquard, Ada Lovelace, ...
country_without_men.1523043571.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/04/06 19:39 by ami