Random Walker (2017), which was developed right at the start of the
enquiry, forms a degree-zero of my whole research in which I explore the
relationship between algorithms and knowledge. It draws a random path,
beginning in the middle of the screen and finishes when the line hits the edge of
the screen. The resulting drawing is printed out, and then the next one starts
in the middle of the screen, 24 hours a day. This allegedly simple algorithm
already embeds many complex frameworks that enable its execution, reflecting
on today’s condition where technology appears simple to use and at the same
time extremely hard to grasp when it comes to its internal mechanisms. All
the drawings are purely random, and yet they invite for the interpretations,
similarly to the analysis of the numbers drawn in the lottery. When piled
on top of each other, drawings build a column of A4 sheets, with each new
drawing devaluing its uniqueness, while at the same time adding height and
weight to the deck. The project will be running until the end of my research
with the column growing in height as my research progresses, marking the
time like a clockwork. The process behind the drawn path is Brownian motion
described by Perrin, and also a basis for many natural processes and the
theory of fractals developed by Benoit Mandelbrot. If the algorithm would
not stop at the edge but bounce away from it, then every piece of paper would
become entirely black, changing the number of dimensions from one (that
of the curve) into two (that of the surface). The plural dimensions which
fractals possess are discussed in connection with fractal philosophy, feedback
loops and the question of ‘how robots “learn” ’ throughout all the written
thesis. Currently there are more then 500 random drawings produced.
enquiry, forms a degree-zero of my whole research in which I explore the
relationship between algorithms and knowledge. It draws a random path,
beginning in the middle of the screen and finishes when the line hits the edge of
the screen. The resulting drawing is printed out, and then the next one starts
in the middle of the screen, 24 hours a day. This allegedly simple algorithm
already embeds many complex frameworks that enable its execution, reflecting
on today’s condition where technology appears simple to use and at the same
time extremely hard to grasp when it comes to its internal mechanisms. All
the drawings are purely random, and yet they invite for the interpretations,
similarly to the analysis of the numbers drawn in the lottery. When piled
on top of each other, drawings build a column of A4 sheets, with each new
drawing devaluing its uniqueness, while at the same time adding height and
weight to the deck. The project will be running until the end of my research
with the column growing in height as my research progresses, marking the
time like a clockwork. The process behind the drawn path is Brownian motion
described by Perrin, and also a basis for many natural processes and the
theory of fractals developed by Benoit Mandelbrot. If the algorithm would
not stop at the edge but bounce away from it, then every piece of paper would
become entirely black, changing the number of dimensions from one (that
of the curve) into two (that of the surface). The plural dimensions which
fractals possess are discussed in connection with fractal philosophy, feedback
loops and the question of ‘how robots “learn” ’ throughout all the written
thesis. Currently there are more then 500 random drawings produced.
