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Neuralrope#1 "Inside an Artificial Brain”

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Interactive installation at the Besso Pedestrian Tunnel, Lugano

L*3
Neuralrope #1 concept site
  • Active from 2.09.19 to 14.07.21
    ‍
    Do you want to adopt the work and move it elsewhere?
    Write to us at info@luganolivinglab.ch

    Total interactions (September 2019 — July 2021):
    - Heart: 781429
    - Pyramid: 95955
    - OK: 90553
    - OR: 78678
    - Cube: 43583
Gallery
  • Proposal
    • June 2019
  • Started
    • January 2020
  • In progress

Description

  • note:
    The Neuralrope project remained active from September 20 to July 14, 2021 to leave room for the planned works in the underpass for the modernization of the Lugano station.

    care    :
    Do you want to adopt the work and move it elsewhere?
    Write to us at info@luganolivinglab.ch
  • Imagine for a moment, as you walk the 100 meters of Besso's pedestrian tunnel, to be able to observe what is happening inside a artificial brain. “NeuralRope #1” reproduces in three dimensions just one large neuronal network, where the LED screens represent neurons, while the cords that connect them evoke axons and synapses, which propagate nerve impulses between one neuron and another.

    From the consonance between artistic work and scientific research It gives rise to the possibility of better understanding what theartificial intelligence: lthe scientist Luca Maria Gambardella and the artist Alex Dorici have worked together to create “NeuralRope #1”, conceived together with the Lugano Living Lab on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Dalle Molle Institute for Studies on Artificial Intelligence (USI-SUPSI).
    ‍
    ‍NeuralRope #1 is an interactive and permanent work. It is constantly evolving: during the day it thinks and observes passers-by and at night it dreams and progresses based on what it has seen, because “Neu-ralrope #1” learns from us to independently interpret the reality that surrounds it.
  • The human brain consists of billions of neurons that communicate with each other through nerve impulses propagated by axons and synapses. During our lives, synapses change, allowing us to learn, perceive the world, reason and feel feelings. The artificial neural network (NN) - consisting of layers of connected neurons - digitally reproduces some functions of our brain and is able to learn concepts starting from examples.
    ‍
    In the interactive work “NeuralRope #1. Inside an Artificial Brain” teaches an NN to distinguish shapes of two categories: triangles and squares. The network, initially trained in the laboratory, acquires new images by observing passers-by through the camera positioned at the beginning of the tunnel.
    During learning, the NN processes information and modifies its axons and synapses accordingly. Then, the NN will be able to show on the monitors at the exit of the tunnel if a triangle or a square is represented in the perceived image. The NN then observed, reasoned and learned.

Credits and thanks

  • lyrics
    ‍    by Ada Cattaneo

    software
    by Alessandro Giusti and Gabriele Abbate

    Video
    NeuralRope #1 by Sacha De Nardo‍
  • Paper graphic layout
    by Cascio GregorioTechnical support by Mario Fontana

    Web project
    by Leonardo Angelucci www.neuralrope.ch
  • Special thanks to the people who contributed to the implementation of this project inaugurated on Monday, September 2, 2019:

    Claudio Chiapparino
    Elena Buchmann
    Igor Bellotto
    Patrick Wagner
    Mauro Soldati
    The entire technical team of the City of Lugano and the team of Lugano Living Lab — City of Lugano.

Authors

Visual artist and scientist/artist
  • Alex Dorici
    • Visual artist, born in Lugano in 1979. After graduating in painting and engraving, he deepened his artistic training in Paris, from 2005 to 2010. Returning to Lugano in 2010, he dedicated himself to interventions in urban space. His site-specific installations use materials such as ropes, tiles, tubes and adhesive tape to alter the usual perception of places of daily life. Since 2006, he has exhibited his works in museums and galleries, both in Switzerland and abroad.
  • Luca Maria Gambardella
    • Scientist and artist, born in Saronno in 1962, lives and works in Ticino. He obtained a degree and doctorate in computer science, developing a strong interest in artificial intelligence. Study the ability of machines to learn and how robots can be autonomous. In Lugano, he is full professor of the USI Faculty of Computer Science at IDSIA (Dalle Molle Institute for Studies on Artificial Intelligence USI-SUPSI) and co-founder and CTO of Artificialy sa. He dedicates himself to art with passion: he paints, creates sculptures and writes novels (“You Are Lives” 2013, “The Sound of Dawn” 2019).
  • “NeuralRope #1. Inside an Artificial Brain”
    • In the interactive work “NeuralRope #1. Inside an Artificial Brain” teaches an artificial neural network (NN) to distinguish shapes of two categories: triangles and squares. The network, initially trained in the laboratory, acquires new images by observing passers-by through the camera positioned at the beginning of the tunnel. During learning, the NN processes information and modifies its axons and synapses accordingly. Then, the NN will be able to show on the monitors at the exit of the tunnel if a triangle or a square is represented in the perceived image. The NN then observed, reasoned and learned.

      Privacy Information
      The camera of the Neuralrope #1 opera does not record any images and does not allow people to be identified. The system interprets some manual gestures made by those who interact with them, tracing only their combinations; the analysis carried out is therefore only numerical.

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