If AI agents were to inhabit the real world, what sounds would their bodies produce? What kinds of sonic environments would they occupy?
Vivarium is a speculative video essay created by resident artists of Antikythera.org to explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence technologies.
In this vision of the future, Vivarium presents an ecosystem of “toy worlds”—gamified simulations where various human-AI interactions facilitate the development of complex embodied intelligence.
The sound design for Vivarium drew heavily from our research into game, sci-fi, and documentary aesthetics. The process involved iterative prototyping with our clients, experimenting with new sound montage techniques to ensure an innovative and immersive audiovisual experience that effectively communicates this intricate topic to our audience.
We carefully crafted emotive atmospheres, foley, and sound effects to synchronise with the rapid animation and enhance the clarity of the dense voiceover. The result is a futuristic sonic universe that seamlessly integrates with the project’s speculative nature, transforming complex concepts into an engaging and accessible audiovisual experience.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
STUDIO RESEARCHERS: Will Freudenheim, Christina Lu, Dalena Tran
PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Benjamin Bratton
STUDIO DIRECTOR” Nicolay Boyadjiev
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: Stephanie Sherman
SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER: Emily Knapp
NETWORK OPERATIVES: Dasha Silkina, Andrew Karabanov
ART DIRECTION: Case Miller
SOUND DESIGN: Daphne Xanthopoulou
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Khalisha Tambunan
VOICEOVER ENGINEER: Sam Horn
EDITOR: Guy Mackinnon-Little
Thanks to The Berggruen Institute and One Project for their support for the inaugural year of Antikythera.
Special thanks to Nicolas Berggruen, Nils Gilman, Dawn Nakagawa, Justin Rosenstein, and Raphael Arar for their visionary support and participation.
Additional thanks to Sara Drake and Imran Sekalala for ideating and contributing to the first iteration of this project. Press and inquiries → contact@vivarium.host
