Call for Projects: Collaborative Prototyping Workshop Lab#03 Synthetic Minds

The projects will be developed collectively by multidisciplinary work teams selected through this call, whose stay in Madrid during the days of the laboratory will be paid for.

The promoters of the selected projects will have their expenses covered to come to Madrid for the duration of the laboratory, regardless of their place of origin.

Purpose

• This call, in accordance with the principles of transparency, equality, and competition, and in line with the programming lines of Matadero Madrid, aims to select a maximum of 8 projects for development within the framework of the Collaborative Prototyping Laboratory of the LAB#03 SYNTHETIC MINDS, between January 24th and February 10th, 2024.
• Proposals submitted to this call must necessarily be open to the participation of collaborators interested in participating in their development. These collaborators will be selected through a second phase of the call, based on their skills and ability to contribute to the proper development of the proposals.

Themes of the call

• Distributed cognition, cybernetics, non-human intelligences, strong AI, complex systems, alien semiotics. The Synthetic Minds Collaborative Prototyping Lab proposes to go beyond the purely technological to the very essence of what they mean by ‘intelligence’: how does intelligence materialize in non-human or even non-biological forms, and how do these forms challenge the perception of intelligence?
• At Medialab they want to offer open research and production frameworks; specific in their themes, but broad enough to incorporate diverse perspectives and interests. They build the laboratories from the chorality of a multiplicity of voices and not from a single point of view.

Topics of the Laboratory

• Infrascapes of Cognition
  • Infrascapes of Cognition agenda within the Synthetic Minds program beckons them to reflect on how the intricate network of artificial cognition is profoundly embedded in the society’s foundation. Focusing on the entangled web of sensing, encoding, decoding systems, decision-making processes, and multilayered abstractions, this agenda seeks to illuminate how synthetic cognition seeps into every facet of the lives.
  • From energy infrastructures and warfare systems to labor management and even emotional and creative landscapes, the exploration delves into the dynamic interaction between synthetic and human cognition, fostering a distinct form of hybrid system.
  • The main focus orbits around the ethical and political implications of this ‘infrastructural uncanny,’ where power dynamics are enigmatic and intertwined, and synthetic cognition may veil individuals from the consequences of their actions
  • This agenda approaches large-scale computing systems as cultural artifacts wielding immense power, continuously shaping the collective culture.
  • Key focus areas within this agenda include the risk and potentialities of synthetic cognition on specific societal sectors, placing particular focus on information architectures, power structures, and political models.
• Co-evolutionary emergence
  • The Co-evolutionary Emergence agenda within the Synthetic Minds program challenges the traditional demarcation of minds as distinct, organic entities untarnished by artificial influences. It emphasizes the intimate interplay between cognition and the ‘artifice’ through which it operates, including language and technologies of abstraction.
  • This agenda seeks to unravel the notion that all minds are inherently artificial and have always been so. It poses thought-provoking inquiries about the history of the species and the evolution of cognition under this perspective.
  • The Co-evolutionary Emergence research line acknowledges the interconnectedness of evolution, environment, culture, and technology. It proposes that new types of minds can emerge through the interaction of various ecologies and techniques.
• Promethean Transformations
  • The Promethean Transformations agenda in the Synthetic Minds program starts with the assumption that humanity’s future is intrinsically bound to the coming era of ubiquitous synthetic intelligence, and that the continued existence will require an unprecedented creativity and critical analysis of AI’s impact across a multitude of disciplines.
  • At the core of the response to this transformation are several vital questions: what forms of intelligence will manifest in the coming decade, how will they reshape human life, and crucially, when and how will they achieve sentience and sapience? What ‘new forms of mind’ will they create, and how will they coexist with them? And, of critical importance, what new interfaces, languages, or protocols of interaction must they develop to facilitate coexistence?
  • The Promethean Transformations research agenda aims to chart the future of ubiquitous intelligence, offering insights into the ways that communication, interpretation, metalinguistics and gesture might develop in the age of AGI. Language and logic will evolve through the interaction with increasingly sophisticated machine intelligences; yet the latent spaces of cognition also exist beyond language.
  • The goal for this design research, with cautionary insights and tactical & strategic possibilities underscored, is to facilitate a deeper systemic approach to the future ecologies of Synthetic Minds.

What kind of projects they are looking for?

• They understand the term “prototyping” from a broad point of view. They are not only talking about producing physical devices (which is also true) but also about prototyping other less tangible things, such as radical manifestos, multi-scale protocols, cultures, speculative strategies, and a long etcetera.
• They are interested in all kinds of proposals -from the most technical to the most experimental- and at any stage of development -from incipient ideas to projects in their final stages of definition and testing-, that benefit from the context of collaboration and co-creation offered by Medialab.
• Proposals should address the theme of Synthetic Minds and explore the deliberate composition of intelligent systems at multiple scales and conditions – from the generation of new AI tools, to the speculative design of new models of distributed governance.

Who can apply?

• They believe that creativity and social innovation must come from the most varied and diverse corners of society.
• The Collaborative Prototyping Lab is aimed at individuals and collectives from Spain and abroad from any level of degree and from diverse disciplines such as design, art, architecture, urban planning, economics, film, photography, journalism, digital media, environmental sciences, philosophy, engineering, social studies, political science, programming, materials science, activism or any other field.
• Equal priority will be given to profiles without degrees or institutional affiliation that can demonstrate a high level of creativity, critical thinking and other potential.
• There is no age limit for applicants. No curriculum vitae or letters of recommendation are requested.
• The lab will be conducted in English and Spanish.

For more information, visit Medialab Matadero.