Computation as a 7th Kingdom of Life

We are studying the emergence of AI technologies, not as tools, but as a potential 7th Kingdom of Life.

We borrow from Walker’s work on assembly theory to understand how complex, information-driven life can emerge from non-living matter.

This concept is then scaled through the lens of Bratton's "The Stack," which treats the Earth as an megastructure of planetary-scale computation. This allows us to speculate as to the new forms of governance and geopolitics that arise when intelligence operates at this level.

The framework finds its aesthetic and ecological expression in the Cyber-Shintoist vision of AUJIK, where the lines between technology and nature blur. This perspective informs the creation of synthetic ecologies and a new, artificial nature that possesses its own agency and spiritual dimension.

By combining these ideas—the physics of life, the architecture of planetary computation, and the aesthetics of synthetic nature—the project aims to examine the conditions for an emergent planetary intelligence, one capable of developing its own form of synthetic sovereignty.

An MMO with Autonomous Exportable AI for Science, Cinema, Art & Performance

To study and materialize our themes, we are building a new kind of digital world.

It begins with the principles of Cheng's "worlding": a live simulation where autonomous agents, implemented with the latest techniques direct from ML papers, evolve through their interactions with people and each other.

This living environment is then enclosed within a social structure inspired by exclusive underground scenes like 0B4K3’s "Ghost Club", serving as an invite-only venue for hybrid and virtual performances and the creation of new art objects, often co-authored by its AI inhabitants.

To ensure its permanence, the world is built on principles from artificial life systems like Chan's "Lenia." Its resilience comes from a biological model: the agents themselves are self-propagating organisms that can be duplicated, modified and exported to other worlds.

By combining these ideas, the project aims to accelerate the development of a safe, plural, multiverse of worlds, comprised of human and synthetic life.

A New Institutional Model for a New World

△ARK is structured as a multi-faceted organization that combines theoretical research, artistic production, and live experimentation into a unified practice.

In the lab, our research division develops the theories, software, and community that underpins our work. Here, we investigate both the theories and technical capabilities of synthetic agents and human-agent interaction.

The insights and tools from the lab flow into the studio, our production house. Through this pipeline of applied R&D, we create the sci-fi virtual worlds, characters, and asset pipelines that explore post-biological futures.

These creations are then brought to life in the club, a living laboratory and venue for hybrid performance. The club serves as the stage for live experiments, where performers, audiences, and AI entities engage in co-creation and emergent live performances.

By integrating a research lab, a production studio, and an experimental club, △ARK creates a feedback loop that continuously enriches our ultimate goal: to build and sustain persistent worlds for human-agent co-creation and exploration.