(2022-2024)
Unlike many other scientific advances, biotechnology seamlessly blends hidden dangers with apparent benefits—curing diseases, extending lifespans, storing information—but at the cost of losing certain ineffable human qualities. When bodies and emotions can be disassembled and plugged in like parts, personality, the unity of life, and even culture become precarious. The Keeper is a visualization of this very “devil's bargain.”
I
The Keeper Concept Proposal
This is a strategic performance designed to showcase “data capitalism.” The performance unfolds through interaction and dialogue between two simultaneously displayed screens: one featuring an AI news anchor, the other displaying AI-generated news content, together delivering a news broadcast.
Today, online platforms appear as guardians of personal information, yet the companies behind them sell such data—some of which fuels AI development. The AI news anchor advocates encoding all personal data into DNA codes implanted within the human body, transforming the body itself into the ultimate custodian of information and true owner of personal data. The performance culminates in a profound dialogue between AI and humans that transcends the screen. The AI, seemingly democratic and wholly serving humanity, secretly controls all broadcast information, visuals, and even the humans conversing with it. The subtextual irony within this exchange guides viewers to reflect as impartial observers.
Events
2023, Black Box, School of the Art Insititue of Chicago, IL
II
The Keeper Bio-Cultivation
Personal archives and collections stored on electronic platforms are highly susceptible to being collected by tech companies and sold without individual consent. Utilizing synthetic DNA for molecular storage as an alternative to electronic storage holds promise for addressing issues of personal data leakage and surveillance within data capitalism. Furthermore, molecular storage offers higher data density, extended longevity, and reduced power consumption for storage systems.
Molecular Storage Processes
As a keeper, data embedded within DNA can be read at any time and decoded into binary code for editing or updating. Regarding this, our simulation experiments have confirmed that synthetic DNA carrying data can be successfully detected from its embedded container. To date, the potential for preserving, retrieving, and updating organic molecular archives has been unlocked.