Updating Atoms Like Pixels

As a kid, I imagined a device or system of technology installed in a physical object that could manipulate atoms the way computers use 1s and 0s to manipulate pixels. The basic idea was to update a manuscript and see the physical book's pages update the ink on the page. This technology would be able to update atoms on a page like pixels on a screen.

Growing up during the expansion and evolution of the internet, I've had this recurring idea. Seeing webpages update in real time and hearing people say 'print is dead, digital is king,' I always felt people were missing the bigger picture. They were lost, fixated solely on the next step ahead of them.

Even as a child or a teen, I was aware that I saw the world very differently from most people. I wouldn't bother myself with my next step until I lifted my head and found the waypoint on the horizon I desired to move toward. Once that was decided, I would then take my next step in connection with how it got me there. That's how it has always felt. People often get lost in following steps, focusing primarily on the previous ones rather than on where they want to be.

I say all that to make this point. Even as people became hyper-focused on moving from the physical world to the digital world, my fascination has always been with the blend of the two.

Connecting to current innovation

This idea closely connects to my Timeless exhibit, in which I explore a similar topic and question: What if physical objects had digital memory? The broader theme emerging for me now is exploring futures where we move from static objects to augmentable, programmable living matter.

This reminds me of the Netflix Abstract series that featured Neri Oxman, designer, architect, and former MIT professor, renowned for pioneering the field of Material Ecology.  In the series, she explores futures in which we no longer build products or buildings, but instead “grow” them. She recently founded Oxman, which is a new kind of design/innovation studio exploring how nature, humanity, and technology unite.

I’ve heard similar conversations in biotechnology. On a recent podcast I listened to with microbiologist and geneticist Andrew Hessel about epigenetics, he highlights that cellular reprogramming may allow us to affect our biology in ways that were previously only speculative. An example is the early studies using paternal epigenetics to repair eyesight, which shows that a broader shift of matter becomes editable.

To bring it back together, even though my childhood idea was premature and purely conceptual, it no longer feels fantastical. There is so much human expansion and discovery that is happening. Many of the abstract concepts and ideas that seemed far off are now becoming real. What an exciting time when we can explore futures and make unthinkable thoughts thinkable and feelable.