Bacteriophages are a type of virus that exist in every corner of our daily lives. Scientifically, viruses are often considered to be entities that exist between life and non-life because they lack fundamental biological functions such as self-replication and metabolism. However, by modifying genetic information, they can utilize the functions of a host to replicate themselves. This relationship between symbolic systems and life forms was the initial source of inspiration for our project.
Computer programs are essentially symbolic systems, much like culture and language. While artificial intelligence is inspired by biology in many ways, there are significant differences between these two systems. Unlike the embodied cognition that is prevalent in biological intelligence, AI systems often first learn patterns in a symbolic world before being embedded into a "body". This symbolic world may be the world of language or a simulated physical environment. In this sense, AI might be fundamentally different from human intelligence, even if it speaks our language. How does this difference in emergent mechanisms shape the way AI operates? As AI systems are now widely applied in social governance, economic activities, and everyday life, how should humans coexist with them? These two questions remain central to our series of projects.
Temporary Soul
In our project, we showcase artificial intelligence at different stages of training. The protagonists of the game "Temporary Soul" are AI-driven bacteriophages controlled by reinforcement learning algorithms. They have fully adapted to their virtual bodies and simulated environments, moving freely within these spaces. Due to a certain degree of "autonomy," players cannot fully control the characters but can only guide their movements using small spheres. Similar to biological beings, these AIs experience a constant state of "hunger" during training and perceive the "pain" of falling. Driven by these pressures, they gradually learn to walk and forage. They need to cooperate with the players to overcome attacks from the immune system and reach their destination.
Λ-7
Λ-7 is a robot that employs the same artificial neural network. Just as it was beginning to learn how to move, we interrupted its training process and allowed it to directly control a real physical robot. Although the virtual and physical robots share identical bodies, and the simulated world closely approximates our own in various parameters, once this "soul" gains a real body and enters the physical world, can it still move as freely as it did in the virtual environment?
How does the difference in emergent mechanisms between symbolic learning and embodied cognition shape the way AI operates? And as AI systems become increasingly integrated into social governance, economic activities, and daily life, how should humans coexist with them?