Catalogue of Making
This series of experiments and prototypes explores different ways to exist at the intersection of magic and the machine.
Prototype 1:
Jiao Bei 2.0
In attempting to create the jiaobei digitally as a study of materiality in divination, I
discovered the endless possibilities for meaning-making that I can create with the same
mechanisms.
Jiaobei 2.0 thus invites people to consider how they choose to
receive
information/make decisions, particularly when it comes to digital interactions.
Jiaobei Divination in Taiwan - link
First iteration on p5.js – A simple simulation
1. Materiality Observed
2. Mapping Elements of Significance
Consider why each of these help make decisions differently. If I were to present the blocks as a black and white square, it would achieve the same outcome, but it would not bear the visual signifiers present that gives the divination its significance (specific to the individual).If I push this further, I would argue that this mechanism mirrors the way a computer makes decisions through a binary system – one we understand as 1s and 0s. If the binary system is truly left to chance, or instructed so, the computer then becomes an object where divination occurs infinitely.
V2.0
Can be used as:
1. Tool for self-reflection with
technology
2. To enable your bad decisions (adjust the probability to the answer
you
want!)
(Image) Jiaobei → 1/0
(Language) Divine → Secular
(Probability) 0 → 100
Final Interactive Site
Click to Visit
Prototype 2:
Noise Oracle
I next attempted to create a brand new divinatory process removed from existing cultural elements. Instead, the goal is to derive these elements purely from computational methods. This experiment therefore instrumentalises computer-generated imagery and machine learning for their ability to generate randomness.
In other words, if our ancestors were given current technology, how would they have used it for meaning-making like they did the stars?
Testing TeachableMachine with my face
Beginnings...
This activity started with a curiosity of how image machine learning worked. There was something quite human about the way it was trained to find certainty in what it saw (arguably because it is a system trained by humans).
Building the Oracle
A poetic framing of these images positions them as computer-generated maps of stars, which ancient astronomers used as a divine meaning-making apparatus. These images thus become a material source of that divine meaning will be derived from.
(Image Generation) I began with a p5.js sketch that generates a canvas of 1000 by 1000 pixels, each assigned B/W — creating a noise image that is almost statistically impossible to be generated twice.
(Image Recognition) I then trained a TeachableMachine model to recognise 3 sets of "stars" that I generated, praying it could recognise the devil in the details.
Interactive Iterations
V1 – The first interation was a website that allowed the upload of a personal image for meaning-making.
V2 – A conceptual installation draft – a machine doomed to find meaning in its own creation.
Final Website
Consulting a Family Plant
Consulting myself
Consulting a very agreeable soft toy
Let the noise guide you...
Click to Visit
Prototype 3
Extension for Manifestation
This chrome extension explores
the power of digital rituals for
self-improvement.
Built to reside in the background
of the browser, the user accesses this space for manifestation and lights a metaphorical
candle.
The user opens this space with every new tab. Every time a related search to the item is
made, a notification pops up, serving as a reminder and affirmation of the
manifestation.
Schindler's List (1993) – Candles for Prayer
This extension was a response to the Manifinsta, which I believe could be viewed as a
modern
"superstition" in which we get back what we put out into the universe (in this case,
on
the internet). However, the article warns of the risks of data insecurity through
this method.
This begs the question, is there a way we can create a self-contained manifestation
portal that doesn't rely on the internet?
1. Locking in your goal and manifesting it through the browser's pop-up notification.
2. Prompt
3. Some wishes I made
4. The browser sends your message out into the universe once more.
Will the universe hear the pleas of the browser just like it does the candles? Or is it simply a ever-present reinforcement of our desires?
Let your browser speak your wishes in existence.
Download
Extension (Works on Chrome)
Prototype 4
Memesis of an AI Oracle
This last prototype investigates the role of divinatory impulses, intuition and
interpretation in tandem with AI. Memes, with its rich vernacular language, are
positioned as modern-day tarot cards that are interpreted by the participant and
ChatGPT.
The reading served as a catalyst for
a light-hearted conversation exploring
the role of belief, intuition and AI
technology in everyday life.
The Holy Mountain (1973) by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Act 1: Building the Oracle
Step 1. Archiving Memes
Step 2. Testing Chatbot
Step 3. Training Chatbot API
Step 4. Refining Tone
Step 5. Staging the Reading
Inspired by Everest Pipkin's "default filename tv", this project also positions memes as potential lost media, some more recent, others posted ages ago in inactive facebook pages or other social media sites.
As cryptic and abstract as they may seem, these archival of memes probably means something different to every individual. Particularly the ones with... ineffable vibes.
Archiving Memes
API Test 1: Can't read image
API Test 2: Vague Response
API Test 3: Detailed Response
Testing the Chatbot (OpenAI)
Testing the Chatbot (Gemini)
Training the Model
The Oracle's Existential Crisis
Meme Oracle
Act 2:
Staging the Reading
The second part involved a interview/conversation section along with the reading.
Merlin Conducts the Reading
5. The Narrative
Merlin, The Wizard
Merlin was a character used as a representation of a Microsoft agent in 2003, a step
taken towards the personification of the setup wizard. I figured Merlin would be the
perfect narrator for the story I'm
telling.
By hinging on the nostalgia of the character, I hope to invite the
audience into this world — a world where magic and technology has never been that far
apart.
Manifestations of Merlin
The Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper Tour But With Merlin The Wizard by @AlejandraSaavedra2
Microsoft Office Clippy and Merlin and Rocky the Dog archived by @wisemaninus
Windows 95 - Merlin archived by @Tiamat583
Edit Tests
Book
Thoughts, Essays & Speculative Oracles
This chrome extension explores
the power of digital rituals for
self-improvement.
Built to reside in the background
of the browser, the user accesses this space for manifestation and lights a metaphorical
candle.
The user opens this space with every new tab. Every time a related search to the item is
made, a notification pops up, serving as a reminder and affirmation of the
manifestation.
