Organism Brief

Organism 25% (Delivered by Dan Livingstone)

organism n. 1. any living animal or plant including any bacterium or virus. Jean Baudrillard, Simulations2. anything resembling a living creature in structure, behavior, etc ----, organ’ismal or,organ’ismic adj. organ’ismally adv.

‘The artificial purification of all milieus, atmospheres, and environments will supplant the failing internal immune systems. If these systems are breaking down it is because an irreversible tendency called progress pushes the human body and spirit into relinquishing its systems of defense and self-determination, only to replace them with technical artifacts. Divested of his defenses, man becomes eminently vulnerable to science. Divested of his phantasies, he becomes eminently vulnerable to psychology. Freed of his germs, he becomes eminently vulnerable to medicine.
It would not be too far-fetched to say that the extermination of mankind begins with the extermination of germs.’ [ Jean Baudrillard ]

‘Artificial Intelligence: the art of making computers that behave like the ones in movies.’ [Bill Bulko]



Working in pairs generate "a living creature in structure, behavior, etc...". The final organism should be a form of interactive media, able to work on any platform from mobile, desktop, internet, ipod etc. The intention is to make the organisms accessible/downloadable on a live web site

The rational behind this exercise?
A: to generate a problem which is not technology driven, i.e. the idea drives the project. You should not start working on the computer until the ‘life form’ spec is generated. You will then have to find ways of realising it with appropriate software or platforms.
B: to force you to consider a truly timebased, multidimensional, interactive problem. In principle a life form needs to feed or to be fed, sleep, move, multiply, expel waste etc. It will be sensitive to certain conditions and have a life expectancy. Do not use buttons, instead concentrate on a process of interactions and behaviours. In defining a life form do not fall into the obvious trap of using cartoon characters, question existing models, redefine and innovate! What is digital life? What is OOPs?


Keywords: Artificial Life, Cellular Automata, Organism, Entity, Lifeform, Virus…