AUJIK, a mysterious Shinto group that believes all things in nature -- including the products of human technology -- possess a soul, have created a series of videos showing organic/synthetic artifacts intended to bridge the gap between the natural and artificial worlds.
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+ Polygon Graffiti: an Uguisu Morph
This video features a selection of computer-generated artifacts at various locations around Japan.
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This video, narrated by a masked AUJIK member named Nashi, explores some of the group's thoughts on technological singularity and artificial selection. AUJIK suggests that the tension between "original" nature (trees, rocks, animals, etc.) and "refined" nature (human technology) is decreasing, and that the two are converging. The group believes it is possible to accelerate this convergence by creating organic/synthetic artifacts such as the ones that appear in the video.
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+ YUKI
This video shows two children interacting with a robotic tree in a snowy landscape.
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+ KIIA
This video shows an organic robotic artifact growing from a tree trunk. The music was created from the sound of cicadas.
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In this video, an AUJIK member named Madoka explains her thoughts on pattern recognition and how it relates to emotions and consciousness.
[More: QNQ/AUJIK]
Scott
A lot of these struck me as very odd, as I'd never seen anything like this before. I didn't understand any of it until I watched the "an Anomalous Garden" post. I think on some level I understood what Madoka was saying and I connected on an emotional level. Very interesting! I'll have to keep an eye on AUJIK from now on. :) It'd be interesting to be able to speak with some of the members and perhaps gain a greater understanding of what's happening in these videos.
[]Dong
After watching these videos a couple of times i find it very intriguing.
[]If you're initialized in Ray Kurzweil's ideas about Technological Singularity you will probably find these works astonishing and almost genius, otherwise they might be a bit difficult to understand.
This is not just about some cool motion design but more about philosophy and insights about the future.
I really recommend the book "the age of spiritual machines" by Kurzweil, and also this website with interviews by leading persons in the subject.
http://singinst.org/media/interviews
Murakami0032
I follow your opinion completely. my english is not good enough to express me this way.
[]This subject interests me a lot and will analyze it in detail.
Marion Steller
"a Forest within a Forest" and "YUKI" are very beautiful, i wish i can see them on a large screen someday. thanks for posting this, it's really remarkable and different than anything I've ever seen before.
[]John Herodotus
There is something compelling about these videos, particularly the Forest Within a Forest and the Anomalous Garden. I don't know that I would call it a philosophy, but it is an interesting response to the alienation of nature perpetrated by the attempt to extend it by scientific means.
[]Alice
I've never seen anything like this before, yet it is so compelling to watch. I find it rather difficult to relate to on a personal level due my never having experiencing these concepts before, yet the ideas from the two interviews are so profound and intriguing; I felt like I was catching a glimpse of their minds on a spiritual level. What I really loved was the two videos "Yuki" and "Kiia" - so eerie and beautiful.
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