Leonardo

ABSTRACT:

This article outlines the history, stages, and processes of work on the Archean Memory Farm project by the Where Dogs Run group. The work is concerned with magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) as organisms that mediate between bio- and information technologies. The authors describe their experiments in creating a symbiotic bio-cybernetic structure, conceived as new media for preserving and transforming information. The article outlines ongoing experimentation with cultivating MTB and building a roboticized setup capable of both maintaining the environmental parameters needed for these species and using bacterial qualities for input and preservation of data, with the aim of receiving artificial “geological clots of information” created through hybrid human-bacterial efforts.