Vaster than Empires

When Ursula K. Le Guin published ​“Vaster than Empires and More Slow” in 1971, she imagined a form of con­scious­ness that challenged fundamental human assumptions about intel­li­gence, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and time. Her story of a planet-spanning forest-mind, operating simul­ta­ne­ous­ly at microscopic and global scales, presaged con­tem­po­rary discussions about neural networks, distributed intel­li­gence, and the possibility of con­scious­ness emerging from complex systems.

The digital artwork com­mis­sioned by the Berggruen Institute in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Ursula K. Le Guin estate, created by CROSSLUCID, translates this prescient vision into visual form through an innovative use of artificial intel­li­gence. The project’s genesis speaks to a growing recognition that navigating our tech­no­log­i­cal future requires not just scientific expertise but also the kind of imaginative and ethical thinking that Le Guin championed throughout her career.

Le Guin’s story follows a survey team encoun­ter­ing a world where all vegetation forms a single, vast con­scious­ness. Through the character of Osden, an empath whose sensitivity to others’ emotions makes human contact nearly unbearable, Le Guin explores how radical differences in perception might lead to either isolation or unprece­dent­ed forms of connection. CROSS­LU­CID’s inter­pre­ta­tion uses a customized Large Language Model to transform these literary themes into visual experiences, creating a fascinating recursive loop: artificial intel­li­gence inter­pret­ing a story about non-human con­scious­ness, which in turn prompts us to reflect on the nature of AI itself.

The artwork operates on multiple levels of sig­nif­i­cance. At its most immediate, it offers viewers an immersive experience of Le Guin’s forest-mind, using dynamic visual patterns to suggest con­scious­ness operating beyond human temporal and spatial scales. More profoundly, it serves as a meditation on our current moment, as we grapple with questions about machine con­scious­ness, envi­ron­men­tal intel­li­gence, and the possibility of com­mu­ni­ca­tion across seemingly insurmountable differences.

CROSS­LU­CID’s visual inter­pre­ta­tion employs sophis­ti­cat­ed AI tools while remaining true to Le Guin’s emphasis on empathy and connection. The resulting artwork demon­strates how digital tech­nolo­gies can serve not just as tools for creation but as means of exploring philo­soph­i­cal questions about con­scious­ness, time, and interspecies communication. 

This project arrives at a crucial moment in our rela­tion­ship with artificial intel­li­gence. As AI systems become increas­ing­ly sophis­ti­cat­ed, questions about machine con­scious­ness and the nature of intel­li­gence take on new urgency. Le Guin’s story, with its exploration of truly alien con­scious­ness, provides a valuable framework for thinking about these issues. The artwork makes these abstract concepts tangible and accessible, inviting viewers to engage with complex philo­soph­i­cal questions through direct sensory experience.

CROSSLUCID, Vaster than Empires is presented as part of the exhibition Hybrid Futures: Rhizomes, Meshworks & Alter-Ecologies, organised and produced by Elektron.
Curators: Vincent Crapon & Françoise Poos.

CROSSLUCID
Vaster than Empires 
single-channel AI-driven video, 5 min., Executed in 2023

Directed by CROSSLUCID
Custom Machine Learning Workflow by CROSSLUCID
Consulted by Theo Downes-Le Guin
Musical Composition: ​“Altruism” by Arswain & Anna Tskhovrebov
Narrative Voice: Theo Downes-Le Guin
Special thanks: Claire Isabel Webb, Alice Scope, Primavera de Filippi

“Vaster than Empires and More Slow” by Ursula K. Le Guin
Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
Copyright © 1971
All Rights Reserved