Totem’s sensors scan the environment for changes in motion and sound, feeding this information to a spiking neural network; a system of software patterned after the operation of real biological neurons in the human brain. This neural network then influences the central rhythms and pulsing rate of the light. The installation thus moves through different states – from an unconscious state of dreaming that produces patterns that appear to us as random and noisy to a state of being awake where its patterns and rhythms are perceivable, entrancing and hypnotic. The actions of the installation thus evolve not solely from its human creators but from its own autonomous being based on interaction with its environment.
A totem is an object that represents a group or a tribe and is believed to possess supernatural powers. Increasingly, as we project supernatural powers and beliefs onto AI, Totem provokes us to ask how will live together with our technological others.
