Creative Future Lab

Ingeborg Reichle, "Living Technologies: Searching for Possibilities of Becoming." In: BioMedia: The Age of Media with Life-like Behavior. Exhibition catalogue, 2023, ed. by Peter Weibel and ZKM, pp. 32-37.

To understand intersections between advances in modern technology and our societies, the ZKM exhibition BioMedia. The Age of Media with Life- like Behavior investigates various artistic and scientific responses to new ways of cohabitation for organic life and “living” technologies, revealing possibilities of becoming. Exhibiting state-of-the-art scientific research about technological systems that demonstrate characteristics of life-like behavior as well as a major body of responsive artworks, BioMedia invites its audiences to learn about living systems, both natural and artificial, and shares experiences with genetic algorithms simulating life or navigating artificial agents and autonomously interacting robots in a more-than-human world.

Making technology come alive has inspired human imagination since ancient times, but with the emergence of 21st century technologies, this seems to be becoming a reality. With their perspective, the exhibition curators provide a deeper understanding about the complex and multilayered ways our societies will adapt to a more balanced coexistence with emerging “living” technologies, because technology is one of the major driving factors constituting social structures. Due to humanity’s co-evolution with technology, societies have grown excessively dependent on technology and its advances, while at the same time taking the potentially devastating side effects and systemic risks into account.