Intelligent Floating Machines Inspired by Nature | Anicka Yi | TED

Translator: C T Reviewer: Thomas Tam

It’s wonderful to be in a room with so many humans

都好耐喇，終於有機會 喺呢度同咁多人一齊。

after all this time.

實在係太好啦。

In the last few years,

喺過去幾年，

I've been keeping company with a new species

我一路陪伴緊一個新嘅物種。

that happens to live in the air.

佢住喺空氣度。

And I'd like you all to meet my aerobe friend.

同大家介紹 我嘅好氧生物朋友。

(Music)

（音樂）

(Music ends)

（音樂結束）

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼同掌聲）

I get emotional every time I see it fly.

我每次見到佢飛， 都好感動。

In my work as an artist,

身為藝術工作者，

I ask a lot of questions about the world around me.

我對身邊嘅世界 提出咗好多問題。

While the problems of the world don't have easy solutions,

雖然呢個世界嘅問題 係唔容易解決，

I think it's as important to ask the right questions.

但我認為同樣重要嘅係 問正確嘅問題。

Why do our technologies instill so much fear in us?

點解科技逐漸帶來咁多恐懼?

Why do our lives today feel so alienating,

點解我哋而家嘅生活咁疏離，

when our technologies are supposed to improve our lives?

科技唔係喺度 改善緊我哋嘅生活咩？

And why do we feel so disconnected,

同埋點解我哋覺得 彼此唔相連？

when our inventions are meant to connect each and every one of us?

我哋嘅發明就係企圖想 將每一個人連結埋一齊。

My artwork deals with evolution, biology and the senses.

我嘅作品同進化、 生物學、感官有關。

I'm interested in how organisms are composed of different life-forms,

我有興趣嘅係 唔同生命形態組成嘅生物體，

such as bacteria, fungi and viruses ...

例如：細菌、真菌和病毒等……

but also how different chemical and molecular interactions can happen

仲有剎那間發生嘅 各種化學同分子反應。

whenever we simply take a breath.

So I've always found modern technology to be quite limiting

我成日感受到 現代科技嘅局限性，

because of how cold and flat it is.

源於佢嘅冰冷同平面化。

But what if our machines could be more holistic?

如果機器更加全面會點呢?

And what if our machines could relate to us in a more holistic way?

如果機器能夠以更全面嘅方式 同我哋聯繫又會點樣呢?

And what if our machines could be more than just our tools,

若果機器唔單止係工具，

and instead, a new type of companion species?

而係新嘅夥伴物種， 又會點呢?

I believe we need to embrace who we are as symbiotic living beings,

我相信需要接納 我哋係共生生物嘅身份，

and design machines to reflect this.

並設計機器嚟反映呢點。

What if the world was populated by machines

如果呢個世界周圍都係機器，

that were more like animals and plants,

好似動物同植物噉，

instead of something you'd find in a factory?

唔係淨係喺工廠先有， 又會點樣?

噉樣嘅探索可以教會我哋 生命嘅知識，

This exploration could teach us so much more about life,

in all its vast complexities.

同佢嘅複雜性。

These ideas might sound like mere science fiction,

聽落去好似係科幻小說。

但身為藝術工作者嘅使命 係創造可能性，

but my mission as an artist is to create possibilities of other worlds,

創造其他世界、 生活同存在方式嘅可能性，

and other ways of living and being,

even if just for a moment.

哪怕只係一陣。

So when I was invited to imagine a large-scale installation

當我被邀請 構想一個大型藝術裝置

at the Tate Modern in London,

擺喺倫敦泰特現代藝術館，

I decided to make this world I'm describing a reality.

我決定去製造一個、 我描述為現實嘅世界。

The museum space is incredibly vast,

藝術館嘅空間極為廣闊。

and I knew right away that I wanted to transform it

我當時就決定要將佢 改造成機器水族館。

into an aquarium of machines.

I asked myself,

我問自己：

"What would it feel like to live in the world with machines

「人類生活喺個 機器喺野外生存，

that could live in the wild and evolve on their own?"

仲自行進化嘅世界度， 係乜嘢嘅感受？」

To explore this question,

為咗探索呢個問題，

I created two new machine species that I call "aerobes."

我創造咗兩種新機械物種， 叫做「好氧生物」。

I released 12 aerobes into the museum space

我喺博物館入面 擺咗十二隻好氧生物，

so they could form their own small ecosystem.

等佢哋發展出 自己小小嘅生態系統。

In order to minimize our human-centric biases,

為咗儘量減少以人為本嘅偏見，

and to steer clear of simply mimicking the human form,

以及避免簡單噉 模仿人類嘅形態，

I worked with my team to look at the natural world,

我同團隊一起參考自然世界，

and we were inspired by creatures like the comb jellyfish

我哋受到咗

櫛水母同猴頭菇等生物嘅啟發，

and the lion's mane mushroom.

We also looked deeply into the field of soft robotics,

我哋仲深入研究 軟體機械人嘅領域，

and ultimately brought the aerobes to life by designing them with fluid movement

最終設計咗具有流體運動， 結構比空氣更輕嘅

and lighter-than-air construction.

好氧生物。

When you look at these aerobes,

當你望住佢哋，

it gives you a feeling almost opposite to the uncanny valley.

感覺同恐怖谷嘅理論 幾乎係相反。

You know that they're mechanical,

你知道佢哋係機械嘅，

yet they feel palpably alive.

但明顯覺得佢哋有生命㗎。

You feel like you might be next to some majestic and remote life-form.

你感覺好似靠近一啲 雄偉同遙遠嘅生物。

Like swimming next to a humpback whale.

就好似喺座頭鯨旁邊游水。

Their size is imposing ...

佢哋嘅 size 好壯觀……

yet they inspire an emotion closer to awe than to fear.

而佢哋激發起一種 接近驚嘆多過恐懼嘅感受。

You sense that they're almost living,

感覺到佢哋 幾乎係生勾勾噉，

and it makes you want to embrace

令人想要擁抱佢哋 一起生活，

and coexist with them,

to see them truly succeed.

見證佢哋真正嘅成功。

I wanted the aerobes to have a sense of freedom

我想要好氧生物有一種自由 同不可預測性嘅感受。

and unpredictability,

so I worked with my team

因此同團隊一齊

to create what is called an artificial life simulation.

開發咗模擬人工生命嘅軟件。

This software allows each aerobe to develop unique behaviors

呢個軟件令每個好氧生物 發展佢嘅獨特行為，

and to respond autonomously to its environment.

同時自主噉對環境做出反應。

The aerobes evolve their personalities

逐步演變出佢哋嘅個性，

as they interact and learn from each other.

通過彼此間嘅互動同學習。

The more we flew them,

放佢哋飛行越多，

the more we got to know their distinct personalities

我哋就越了解佢哋獨特嘅個性

and their gentle nature.

同埋溫柔嘅本質。

It was very important for me

呢點對我好緊要，

that the aerobes had their own sensory world.

就係好氧生物 有佢哋自己嘅感官世界。

Most AI functions like a mind without a body.

大部分 AI 嘅運作 係缺少咗身體，只得思維。

But all living creatures,

另一方面所有嘅生物，

from the humble tick to the stealthy panther,

由卑微嘅蜱蟲到隱蔽嘅黑豹，

learn about the world through their bodies and their senses.

都係通過佢嘅身體 同感官去了解呢個世界。

These aerobes perceive each other through high-frequency radio waves,

好氧生物通過高頻無線電波互相感應，

and they use thermal sensing

同時使用熱能感應，

to detect other living creatures in their environment.

嚟檢測周圍環境嘅其他生物。

An aerobe might be curious about your heat signature,

一個好氧生物 可能對你嘅熱能特徵會好奇，

and fly over to greet and flirt with you,

跟住會飛過嚟 同你打招呼、又撩吓你。

while other aerobes are more shy

但有啲好氧生物 可能比較怕醜，

and might go out of their way to avoid a crowd.

會故意避開人群。

How will these machines and humans be together in the world?

呢啲機器同人類 會點樣喺呢個世界度共存呢?

What will this world look like?

呢個世界將會變成點樣?

This world may see machines and humans generating new intimacies

可能機器同人類 會產生新嘅親密關係，

and alternate perspectives.

亦開展出不同嘅視野。

My hope is that these aerobes will help us appreciate

我希望好氧生物 將會幫我哋領悟到

a more diverse way of living and being.

更為多樣化嘅生活方式。

Their purpose is not to compete with us or to dominate us,

佢哋並唔係同我哋競爭 或者支配我哋，

but to ask what a more compatible future could look like.

而係要問更兼容嘅未來 會係點樣嘅。

We all have a stake in this conversation about technologies.

我哋都有份參與 呢次科技嘅談話。

Can we actively align machines to better reflect our biological reality?

我哋係唔係可以積極協調機器 使到更好噉反映出生物嘅現實?

I sincerely hope that you'll consider

我誠意希望你哋可以考慮吓，

that machines can be so much more than what we've known,

機器做嘅可遠遠超乎 我哋已經知道嘅範疇，

and how they might embody a wisdom drawn from biology.

佢哋點樣體現 來自生物學嘅智慧。

This project is a project for everybody,

呢個項目係大家嘅，

to imagine different worlds and different futures.

令到大家可以去想像 唔同嘅世界同未來。

It's not too late to change machine evolution

我哋仲有時間去改變機器嘅演化，

and to consider new goals,

並考慮新嘅目標， 令機器同人類

where machines and humans can coexist

in a more compassionate way.

都存有同情心共存，

I believe this is where we can start the conversation.

我相信呢個就係對話嘅起點。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

(Music)

（音樂）

(Music ends)

（音樂結束）

Thank you.

多謝。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼和掌聲）