I AM ALIVE by Stanza. Artificial intelligence machine learning artworks

I AM ALIVE 2023

I AM ALIVE 2023.

Overview: I AM ALIVE 2023 is a generative, AI-driven artwork that is alive, evolving, and continuously learning. It draws from thousands of real-time data streams across an entire nation, transforming raw information into an ever-changing visual system. This living artwork reflects the dynamic nature of machine perception and human interaction through the abstraction of data.

Concept: For machines, reality is binary: on or off, true or false. Their entire worldview is mediated through numbers. Any knowledge we gain from machines is filtered through this numerical abstraction. As society becomes increasingly dependent on machines, it's critical to understand the boundaries and limitations inherent in these abstractions. I AM ALIVE interrogates these boundaries by using real-time data feeds and unsupervised learning. It visualizes the hidden structures within vast amounts of information, turning the invisible into something tangible. The system is built to evolve over time, forming new behaviors and patterns as it "learns" from the incoming data.

Data & Learning
The artwork leverages a custom-built real-time system (STANZA.API) , focused on European transport, weather, and pollution data. Using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, particularly Adaptive Resonance Theory 2 (ART 2), it constantly adapts without losing previously acquired patterns. At its core, a neural network processes these data streams, forming recursive patterns—patterns within patterns—that reflect the complex systems of a nation. As data changes, new nodes emerge within the network, showing growth and transformation. These nodes are dynamically influenced by live weather feeds, pollution fees and environmental inputs.

Visualization as Process: What you see is a visual representation of the underlying math: an artistic snapshot of the neural network’s current state. Each new node, each evolving pattern, is a result of interrogating the weights, values, and connections across the network. The artwork reflects not just the top-level outputs but also the "spaces in between"—where the most meaningful shifts often occur.

These visualizations are expressions of a machine's internal dialogue: living, breathing mathematics rendered as art.

Technology

Backend: Node.js (STANZA.API), with the neural network ported from C to JavaScript.
Learning Model: Adaptive Resonance Theory 2 (ART 2), supporting continual learning and behavioral clustering.
Display: Optimally experienced using up to three large screens or projectors. An active internet connection is required for real-time functionality.
Output Format: JSON-based data visualizations.

Data Sources

Weather: Nationwide metrics including temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation, humidity, and pressure.
Pollution: Real-time data per station (GPS), including Carbon Monoxide, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone, Sulphur Dioxide, Temperature, Wind, and Humidity.
Transport: Geolocated data on trains, buses, trams, and taxis.

Final Notes: I AM ALIVE challenges our understanding of data, autonomy, and creativity in the age of intelligent machines. It is a portrait of a machine’s mind, forming itself from our world and revealing a vision shaped entirely by numbers.

Exhibitions.

Living In Tech– Palau Robert Barcelona . Spain . 2023
Deutsches Museum Nuremberg. Germany. 2023