Electric Sheep is the collision of open source technology, artificial intelligence & living art. It is also a screen saver. What is an electric sheep? As explained by creator Scott “Spot†Draves:
“Electric Sheep is a free, open source screen saver run by thousands of people all over the world. It can be installed on any ordinary PC or Mac. When these computers 'sleep', the screen saver comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as 'sheep'. The result is a collective 'android dream', an homage to Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep..â€
Users install the screen saver on their computer (Mac or PC). When the computer enter a power save mode the screen saver will communicate with other computers using the electric sheep program and using the combined computing power generate new “abstract animations†or “sheepâ€. Users (me and you) can vote on the “sheep†we see on our screens using the same simple format as Caesar at the coliseum. Up arrow key is good for the sheep a down arrow key and it could be the end.
The Sheep constantly grow and change based on the communities input and the computers connected. The animations are quite stunning but then again if you don't like them you can vote them out. Electric sheep maybe a sort of strange populist Darwinism but, it most certainly is a great example growing trend of coupling computer programming and art.
If you're interested in helping propagate the electric sheep population you can download the program at here.
Other similar artists include: Joshua Davis and James Paterson.
Check out Scott “Spot†Draves blog here.
Electric Sheep
Screensaver Generated by Global Network of Computers
Trend Themes
1. Open Source Technology - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Expanding the use of open source technology in various fields to enable collaboration and collective creation.
2. Artificial Intelligence - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Applying AI algorithms to generate morphing abstract animations and enhance digital art.
3. Computer Programming and Art - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Exploring the intersection of computer programming and art to create new forms of interactive and dynamic visual experiences.
Industry Implications
1. Digital Art - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Leveraging open source technology and AI in digital art platforms to enable collaborative creation and real-time interactive experiences.
2. Screen Saver Software - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Developing screen saver software that uses AI algorithms and networked computers to generate ever-evolving and personalized visual displays.
3. Technology Education - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrating computer programming and digital art into technology education to foster creativity and interdisciplinary skills.