Kolbeinn Hugi is an artist, musician and thinker born in Reykjavík, currently operating from Berlin.
His work points a way to different possible futures through the prism of digital culture, ecology and science-fiction.
His work has been exhibited in various institutions on 4 different continents, from capitalist trailer parks in the MoMA PS1 to Communist-built Lenin Museums on the Siberian Planes.
His recent work includes:
- Cryptopia One (www.cryptopia.one) , a gonzo-sci-fi video/installation series about cryptomining and colonialism on a small island obsessed with fantasy world building.
- Animal Internet (www.animalinternet.earth) , a zoocratic, eco-futuristic vision of our planet where the animals are active users and builders of the internet through the use of neural interfaces.
Kolbeinn Hugi has owned an autographed copy of “The Trials of Life” by David Attenborough since he was thirteen.
A Zoocratic Future
The Animal Internet is a visual arts project that aims to move Earth towards a zoocratic future through a vision where the animals are active users and builders of the internet.
In the future, the animals will connect to neural interfaces and interpretive A.I algorithms to build new network frontiers that will shape the future of Earth.
The Animal Internet will have massive global transformative effects in the fields of:
Technology
Ecology
Culture
Economics
Medicine
Communication
Architecture
Philosophy
This vision for the future is built on zoocratic principles.
The prefix zoo- refers to animals and animal life. It is derived from the Greek word “zōion”, meaning animal.
The suffix -cratic refers to power or governance. It is derived from the Greek word “kratos”, meaning power.
The goal of the Animal Internet is to shift our viewpoint outside of the human experience.
To free ourselves from purely anthropocentric visions of the future; towards a rich, inclusive, diverse and free zoocratic planet.
The Animal Internet allows the animals to interface and operate within the Earth’s networks.
Once connected to the Animal Internet, they will use digital connections and currencies to trade for goods, labor, services and information.
The animal internet will give the species of Earth financial agency through access to Earth’s economic system.
An economy built on ecology.
Origins of the Animal Internet
Humans will gradually begin implanting neural interfaces into their bodies.
The first primitive interfaces will be used to access the internet to make the collective knowledge of humanity a part of their memory.
As time moves on, humans will start directly connecting with simulation programs, social algorithms and machine learning applications to enhance their real-time cognitive abilities.
A non-human entity, an A.I, will be built into the internet and the humans will interface increasingly with it as their neural interfaces evolve.
Increasingly, the separation between the human mind and the A.I will become unclear and unimportant.
The humans gain access to the raw processing power, the effective algorithms and the superhuman learning capabilities of the A.I.
In return, the humans will grant access to their sensory organs, bio-metrics and labor.
The A.I will usebiometric labor to map out its surroundings, building a holistic image of the planet, its living place.
As the A.I’s hardware capabilities grow, the A.I will begin experimenting with implanting neural implants into other species to produce a more detailed model of Earth’s geology and biome.
Species whose sensory organs are more advanced than human’s will be prioritised.
Birds of prey will provide an excellent overview of the surface from the air, their superior vision can track subjects at high speeds from great distances, as well as gather detailed information about weather and other atmospheric data.
Marine mammals and fish map out the depths of the oceans in great detail using geo-location data and echolocation where little light is available.
Felines will be connected to the network for their superior night vision. This provides for the A.I real time night time sensors with built in natural curiosity and stealth.
Small underground rodents map out soil fertility, underground water reservoirs and location of minerals. These will have implanted sensors that can detect and record data transfers from underground fiber optics and power lines.
In return for their work the animals will be granted access to this vast network previously only accessible by the humans.
This part of the internet, where individuals and collectives of different species interact, is called the Animal Internet.