Symbiotic Intelligence: Rethinking AI with Mycelium

Symbiotic Intelligence: Rethinking AI with Mycelium is an thought-provoking talk that critically explores how narratives shape the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It reveals how dominant narratives driving AI often mirror social-Darwinist concepts of evolution, reviving ideas and methods historically associated with eugenics.

The talk introduces mycelium as a collaborator to rethinking AI through alternative narratives grounded in symbiosis. By presenting mycelium’s interconnected and cooperative nature, it encourages participants to consider ecologically sustainable approaches to technology design, fostering sustainable relationships between humans, technologies, and other species.

This session is designed for beginners interested in AI and the influence of storytelling in technology design. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the dominant narratives currently influencing AI, while also acquiring critical tools to question these narratives and envision alternative, positive technological futures.

About Symbiotioc Intelligence

Symbiotic Intelligence is a collaborative practice founded by Dr. Shira Wachsmann and Dr. John Wild, blending fine art with critical research to challenge dominant narratives in Artificial Intelligence (AI). For over three years, they have worked together at the AI Design Lab, a partnership between the Royal College of Art and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Their work critically explores the cultural, social, ecological and ethical dimensions of AI development.

Dr. Shira Wachsmann is a multimedia artist and researcher whose practice spans moving images, collage, drawing, augmented reality, digital art, and electronic arts. Her work explores non-linear storytelling, human–interspecies–machine evolution and their environmental intelligences.

Dr John Wild is an artist based in London whose practice incorporates sculpture, performance, sound, video, electronics, and machine learning. His research investigates the emergent futures within digital technology, focusing on how these technologies shape human perception and interaction.

Together, Wachsmann and Wild create experimental installations that integrate live mycelium with interactive technology, using this unique medium to propose alternative narratives based on symbiosis and collective assemblage. Their work challenges audiences to reconsider conventional views of AI and technology and has been exhibited in London, Vienna and Hong Kong.