Unexpected Ecosystems

In 2022, María Castellanos and Alberto Valverde presented Unexpected Ecosystems for the first time at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, during an Open Day held on 23 April. The work was developed in the context of María Castellanos’ postdoctoral research at Oslo Metropolitan University, within FeLT – Futures of Living Technologies, and continues a line of research focused on relationships and possibilities for communication between plant organisms and technological systems.

Unexpected Ecosystems is an installation that investigates interaction between plants and machines through artificial intelligence. The electrophysiological activity of the plants is recorded and used as information to influence the behaviour of soft machines sharing the same environment. Through learning processes, the machines progressively modify their behaviour in response to the plants’ activity, while an artificial intelligence system connects and synchronises the learning processes of the different devices.

This first presentation publicly introduced a new development of the research initiated with Otras Inteligencias. Diálogos entre especies de plantas y humanos, the project from which Unexpected Ecosystems emerged. The installation further explores the creation of environments for coexistence between living organisms and artificial systems, shifting the role of technology from observing plants towards the construction of processes of interaction and shared learning.