Synthetic Biology Project Workshop

In the Synthetic Organisms workshop, released in conjunction with the White House of Reading Recruitment, twelve participants were guided by the narrative and rules of the board game to experience a shift in identity and perspective from humans to the plants and animals of the ecosystem. Participants experience the evolution of the ecosystem and the critical choices in adapting and evolving as plants and animals. As the workshop moved into the futuristic scenario of 2054, participants faced an existential crisis in virtual and imaginary time and roles.

The workshop provides game cards that inspire the group to create their own path of species evolution using future AI technology. At the end of the workshop, the commands issued by the AI agent to each species prompted people to go outside and slowly reveal the contradictions in the narratives; thus, the participants began to think more deeply about the relationship between biology and technology.

The workshop was highly accommodating, and the complexity of the information was brought to light through the constant refinement and design of the interactive sessions, which ultimately allowed participants from different age groups to have an in-depth experience and contemplation of the complex issues of ecology, as well as to explore more about the future interaction between AI technology and the biological world.