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BARC0011 - MArch Thesis Thesis Tutor: Stephen Gage Module Coordinators: Dr. Edward Denison Dr. Robin Wilson Oliver Wilton Bartlett School of Architecture 2019
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Bionic Landscapes & Superhyphae: Building an Intelligent Forest Marie Ann Heng Walker-Smith Unit 24
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Introduction Preface Chapter One : 2088 Chapter Two : 2090 Chapter Three : 2098 Conclusion Appendix Bibliography
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Word Count : 9681 (excluding footnotes, bibliography, glossaries, appendix and figures) 5
Glossary of Terms Distanced Authorship : Taken from Erle C. Ellis’ written piece, Distanced Authorship in the Anthropocene, in the 45th issue of the Harvard Design Magazine, the term details the means “to create ecologies free of both unintended human pressures and direct human interventions to reverse these pressures, yet still embedded deeply within the human landscapes of the Anthropocene… in the form of artificial intelligences and sensory capabilities beyond those of any human… new strategies to design wild places.” Machine Learning: “Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning focuses on the development of computer programs that can access data and use it learn for themselves. The process of learning begins with observations or data, such as examples, direct experience, or instruction, in order to look for patterns in data and make better decisions in the future based on the examples that we provide. The primary aim is to allow the computers learn automatically without human intervention or assistance and adjust actions accordingly.” i Phenology: “The study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation).” ii Mycorrhizal Networks: “A common… mycelium linking the roots of at least two plants, [which] occur in all major terrestrial ecosystems… mycorrhizal networks are fundamental agents of complex adaptive systems (ecosystems) because they provide avenues for feedbacks and cross-scale interactions that lead to self-organization and emergent properties in ecosystems.”3iii
i Expertsystem.com. (n.d.). What is Machine Learning? A definition - Expert System. [online] ii Demarée, G. and Rutishauser, T. (2011). From “Periodical Observations” to “Anthochronology” and “Phenology” – the scientific debate between Adolphe Quetelet and Charles Morren on the origin of the word “Phenology”. International Journal of Biometeorology, 55(6), pp.753-761. iii Simard, S., Beiler, K., Bingham, M., Deslippe, J., Philip, L. and Teste, F. (2012). Mycorrhizal networks: Mechanisms, ecology and modelling. Fungal Biology Reviews, 26(1), pp.39-60.
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INTRODUCTION
“We cling to fragments of ‘virgin’ or ‘old growth’ forests, to the ‘last great places’, the ever-rarer ‘intact ecosystems,’ but they slip through our fingers. Like slivers of soap, they shrink and disappear. And we mourn. We are always mourning, because we can’t make more of such places. Every year there are fewer of them than the year before.” - Emma Maris, The Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a PostWild World (2011) Unit 24
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The year is 2098. The population of the world nears 12 billion and the planet has paid the price; true wilderness has ceased to exist and the Rothiemurchus Project seemingly stands as the Last Forest, the final remnant of the failed UN experiment to protect biodiverse forests around the world. Tourists once came from all over the world to marvel at it from its periphery; it has been off-limits since the AI system governing the forest determined the zone to be human-free in 2080 in order for it to best nurture and replenish its ecosystem. Despite now having diverged from its original UN directive, all seems well within the confines of Rothiemurchus, at least from the outside. However, within its boundaries the forest is a delicate, fragile ecosystem, maintained by animal-like robotic caretakers tapped into a microscopic fungal underground network; a true symbiosis between nature and machine. The AI system considers whether or not to re-introduce human presence to the woods again.
The following written thesis employs portions of fiction in order to explore the inception and workings of a machine learning system-run biome. Taking place at the end of the 21st Century; it sets out the initial intentions behind the system and how it adapts in order to achieve successful symbiosis between man, machine and nature, as a solution to impending ecological disaster; a world where mankind’s overreach has almost eliminated all natural wilderness. Here fiction is used as a tool to speculate on what the future may hold: its technology, the planet’s condition, the attitude towards nature and the value nature holds in society. The site on which the study is based, is Rothiemurchus, a wild estate spanning 30 square kilometres in the Scottish Highlands, adjacent to Glenmore Forest. As well as its recognised status as an area of outstanding natural beauty, it is home to numerous species of flora and fauna, with an estimated 10 million trees, and the forest is one of the largest surviving areas of ancient woodland in Europe. Since the large-scale felling that occurred as a consequence of the two world wars in the last century, more than 1000 hectares of woodlands have been established or re-established within Rothiemurchus. This text is an exercise in future casting, in that it invents a direction for humanity, but one determined by current trends; drawn primarily from wider observations of emerging technology and biological research. 1 It does this in the form of a narrative, whereby humanity chooses to employ machine learning as a tool to address ecological problems where our prior ham-fisted approach has failed. As such, the narrative has been set to concern events, which occur from 2088 to 2098, the year roughly by which current estimations show that our population will have doubled, while also marking the end of the current century.2 The employment of future casting, while an exercise in speculation and narrative for the design project, also serves the purpose of acting as a cautionary tale, to better inform the decisions we may take to better shape our planet’s future. 1 2
Dunne, A. and Raby, F. (2013). Speculative Everything. MIT Press. Ellis, E. (2018). Anthropocene. A very short introduction. Kettering: Oxford University Press.
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This piece of fiction is strongly inspired by works of science fiction and sits comfortably within the genre. As such, it incorporates research regarding the role of biomimetic autonomous machines, and so-called artificial intelligence in our future, particularly as tools to facilitate ‘distanced authorship’; an approach to designing and cultivating wild places that favours reduced direct human intervention, mediating control between man and nature. In constructing this hypothetical reality, informed assumptions have been made regarding the state and condition of the planet; extreme conditions drive the narrative of the design project. The intention is to limit speculation to what is within the realm of the possible; that is to say, what researchers and theorists have posited is possible in the relatively near future, by basing new ideas on what already exists today. Consequently, the thesis acknowledges research into subjects such as biomorphism, artificial intelligence, the Holocene and Anthropocene, forestry techniques, and the ecology of the forest site itself, in order to build a complete picture of the imagined scenario. Moreover, it is also used as a platform to ponder how humanity may be reintroduced in this scenario and become able to carefully co-habit the earth with a future wilderness, restoring a balance in the symbiotic relationship that our ecosystems so urgently rely on. While advances in digital technology seem increasingly focussed on entertainment and convenience, an undercurrent exists that seeks to promote the role of robotics in curating and cultivating nature, especially in the absence of human capability to adequately do so. Recent findings suggest that machine learning systems through normal operation may be able to independently ‘evolve’ to a level where they can make autonomous, informed decisions, to accomplish how best to carry out their objectives; in this case, the protection of natural environments, habitats and forests.3 Today businesses such as the Small Robot Company (fig. 00.01) are trialling “Farming as a Service” (FaaS) packages, where robots patrol and manage parcels of agricultural land, directed by an AI-driven system. Their accurate and diligent modes of operation could soon outmatch the agricultural workers of today.4 This could allow humanity to shape its environment through indirect means, to a previously unfeasible level of precision and care. By setting carefully considered parameters, we may be able to hand off most aspects of caring for our natural environment to robotic workers governed by an artificial intelligence. Hypothetically, an AI system would be able to more accurately forecast the short- and long-term consequences of its actions, and make more objective decisions than humans are currently capable of. Here, the idea of distanced authorship comes into shape, giving our species sovereignty over our environment, but via the mediation of an artificial intelligence. The idea of distanced authorship is gaining traction today, with more voices (such 3 e8621 4
Thessen, A. (2016) Adoption of machine learning techniques in ecology and earth science. One Ecosystem 1, Small Robot Company. (2018). Small Robot Company - Meet the Robots.
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2020
2020 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change invites countries to submit biodiverse forests for preservation; 12 are selected, including Rothiemurchus.
2030 2034 Scotland successfully campaigns to re-join the European Union, whilst remaining part of the U.K. as part of a special concession. -Rothiemurchus is therefore eligible for E.U. Natura2000 Funding and the Forest Europe Fund, as well as the UNFCCC and CIFOR funding, leading to the Grant family relinquishing the land to the project.
2040
2046 The Rothiemurchus Forest Engagement and Rehabilitation Network
(FERN) launches from the Ark, forest closes to public in order to conduct trial, human operations prepare to move to periphery of forest.
2050
2055 The Rothiemurchus Visitor Centre (the Hide) opens, human-led operations fully leave the Ark, five years ahead of schedule.
2060 2063 FERN announces its first generation of self-built machinery, signalling its status as a self-contained biomechanosphere.
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2080
2081 First test forests around the world begin to “fail”, systems go offline or indicate a trajectory toward extinction.
2090 2097
FERN starts to “glitch”, going offline for extended periods of time.
2098: PRESENT
March 2098 Rothiemurchus perimeter boundaries are disabled from within. Sept. 2098
FERN increases reproduction of trees and plant matter to maximum capacity.
April. 2099 First plant species originating from Rothiemurchus recorded outside boundary in 40 years
2100
Feb. 2100
Preparations for encroaching forest begin.
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Fig. (00.01) - A timeline of the thesis’ events and those leading up to it.
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Fig. (00.02)- Small Robot Company’s three prototypes with Wilma, their AI system. Image Credit: Small Robot Company. Fig. (00.03) - An overlay of 3D data over the same tree, captured by drones. Image credit: Todd Dawson, Berkley UCA. (00.03)
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as those at the Laboratory for Anthropogenic Landscape Ecology at the University of Maryland, who run a blog entitled “Human Landscapes: a blog about human resources” ) contributing to the discussion of artificial intelligence and its management of nature; beginning with agricultural management and ramping up to macroscopic environments.5 If such AI systems were able to be employed , we would see vast improvements in our ability to collect and share knowledge and resources, in objective reporting and analysis, as well as in speed and efficiency. Of course, many private enterprises have also been investigating cost-effective methods of replacing human labour with robot workforces, with Amazon being an obvious, pervasive and typically self-serving example.6 Yet even such commercially driven developments regarding spatial navigation and haulage could still have wider, more altruistic implementations in the future. When dealing with the continued management and preservation of our natural environment, it seems imperative that new architecture should aim to fully accommodate artificially intelligent systems capable of managing how space is used and cultivated (and by whom), to better enable our planet’s long-term survival. As architects, we are fortunately positioned to employ interdisciplinary expertise to begin to better enable us to live within our planet’s means; as our skills and methods grow, so must our responsibilities. Furthermore, in order to counteract the effects of unsustainable farming and industry, our reliance on fossil fuels, and our over-consumption of the planets limited natural resources with little financial or political consequence; humanity needs to wholeheartedly and collectively commit to the defence of our natural world.7 It is a widely known fact so often ignored, that our continued survival is tied to the survival of our natural environment.8 With our global population predicted to reach between 11 and 16 billion by the year 2100, our species is in desperate need of new means of control over ourselves, or the biosphere.9 If we are unable to morally and politically justify curbing our own inexorable and exponential growth (for example in the manner of China’s now abandoned One Child Policy), then it logically follows suit to equip the planet to cope with our impending consumption and damage that population growth delivers. This written thesis aims to speculate on the condition of the planet, and in particular the UK, as we approach the 22nd Century, suggesting what measures could have been taken by this time, and what may have failed, to ensure humanity’s survival. In this constructed scenario, the built environment is everywhere, hemming in the last forest, which in itself introduces intelligent architectural elements that play an active part in its ecosystem. Between now and then, according to current trajectories, sea levels will have risen 5 Ellis, E. (2018). Distanced Authorship in the Anthropocene. Harvard Design Magazine, (45), p.207. 6 Blake, R. (2019). Amazon’s Push to Augment Workforce with Automation is Pig in Industrial Robotics Python. [online] Forbes 7 Ellis, E. (2018). Anthropocene. A very short introduction. Kettering: Oxford University Press. 8 Carrington, D. (2019). Let nature heal climate and biodiversity crises, say campaigners. [online] the Guardian 9 Ellis, E. (2018). Anthropocene. A very short introduction. Kettering: Oxford University Press.
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267 millimetres, 33,453 gigatons of ice will have melted from the ice caps, global temperature will have risen by 9.74°C, and up to 162,000 species could go extinct.10 The accompanying design project seeks to reconsider the forest as being symbiotic with robotic architectures, which have become embedded within it. This thinking is by no means new; Archigram famously proposed their Rokplugs and Logplugs as small architectures, indistinguishable from their real-life counterparts in 1968; it could be worth re-examining their logic, as our current technological knowledge seems close to fulfilling their hybrid technological/natural architectures.11 For example, technology has reached a point where drones are used to observe the phenology of trees (fig. 00.03), so we are now capable of recording and storing detailed 3D scans with relative ease and little expenditure.12 13 We can even interpret these observations to identify signs of tree disease, parasites and drought. This technology could feasibly be augmented to suit autonomous patrolling robots capable of making independent and informed decisions based on the data they gather, which may increase in effectiveness as they continue to operate and learn. A recent discovery of particular note has been made regarding the function of forests as a whole; it has come to light that certain types of fungi facilitate communication between trees and other species of plants. Known as a ‘mycorrhizal network’, strands of fungi below the forest floor link tree roots to other trees, which then use their ‘hyphae’ to broadcast information such as water levels, a tree’s condition, whether parasites are attacking it, soil nutrition etc. This allows the forest to re-direct resources to the points where they are most required. For instance, trees are able to share their meristemic cells with each other, which can regenerate and repair much like stem cells for humans; mycorrhizal networks enable forests to exist beyond the sum of its parts. As we have begun to understand how they function and what sort of information can be transferred through these fungal networks, it is not unimaginable that, before the end of the century, we may be able to develop technology capable of tapping into these natural, hyphal, infrastructures.14 The amount of data that is transferred along these connections increasingly surprises and surpasses our expectations15, and so as we now begin explore the fusion of natural tissue and machine, I hypothesise the effective use of these networks for the management and cultivation of wild natural environments in the future.16 While Rothiemurchus is foreseen to be the last forest and largest patch of ‘wilderness’ in this fictional future, that isn’t to say that this scenario is pictured to be completely dystopian. Current urban design trajectories suggest that the world would not become devoid of plants and green spaces, and they would instead be incorporated into 10 NASA Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. (2019). Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. 11 Spiller, N. (2006). Visionary Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. 12 Klosterman, S. and Richardson, A. (2017). Observing Spring and Fall Phenology in a Deciduous Forest with Aerial Drone Imagery. Sensors, 13 Sanders, R. (2016). Drones help monitor health of giant sequoias. [online] Berkeley News. 14 Fleming, N. (2019). Plants talk to each other using an internet of fungus. [online] Bbc.co.uk 15 Macfarlane, R., Glasser, S., Gessen, M., DeRogatis, J., McGrath, B. and Fry, N. (2019). The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web. [online] The New Yorker 16 Futurism. (2019). Living Machines: These Robots Are Made From Living Tissue.
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the built environment, as they are in cities today. However, the distinction between cultivated biota and wilderness is important, particularly as the latter is irretrievable once gone; for example, mycorrhiza develop with older tree roots, and so to raze ancient woodlands to the ground and replanting younger saplings in their stead would only serve to eviscerate the delicate eco-system that once stood there. In terms of hypothesising political acts necessary to designate and safeguard nature in this way; precedent exists with the likes of the UNESCO Cultural Landscapes initiative, where the “combined works of nature and humankind, [which] express a long and intimate relationship between peoples and their natural environment” is celebrated.17 Rothiemurchus also features in several UK government initiatives to preserve its natural forests and biodiverse sites following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 1992. The site is a priority habitat in the Habitats Directive, aided by the Natura 2000 network and is specifically referred to as a “an important ecosystem” by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan in 1994.18 Furthermore, the positive image and ethical superiority of openly protecting the environment has attracted growing commercial interests too; insurance companies are beginning to increase their premiums when it comes to covering climate change-induced losses; the 2018 Californian wildfires, which have been blamed for USD24 billion in losses (£18 billion), have been attributed to climate change19. Also, in 2019 both the Bank of England and France’s central bank issued warnings that failure to act will result in disasters that could collapse the global economy as catastrophic weather events strike cities.20 There is therefore existing impetus for such a project to emerge. The following piece of writing is conceived as if the proposed future of ‘the Rothiemurchus Project’ has come to fruition; it is prefaced by an account of how the project develops and comes to use its governing A.I.; and then is primarily composed of three reports conducted by a visiting inspector in the employ of the UN, under its global initiative to protect and re-introduce true wilderness to the Earth. Charged with scrutinising each facet of the forest program, the inspector is required to deliver annual reports; here, the reports from three significant years are reproduced. The first, in 2088, charts the project’s heyday; the second from 2090 recounts a major shift in the forest’s management and independence, while the final report from 2098, outlines the forest’s exposure to the world. As a whole, the piece hopes to inspire readers to reconsider attitudes towards the environment, and what can happen should we continue to be ambivalent towards it, as well as the role and shifting definition of architecture as we develop more sophisticated building and robotic technology.
17 Whc.unesco.org. (2019). Cultural Landscapes. 18 Ratcliffe, P. R. (1999) Rothiemurchus: The Forest, its Ecology and Future Management 19 Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance firm; Ernst Rauch, chief climatologist. Neslen, A. (2019). Climate change could make insurance too expensive for most people – report. [online] the Guardian. 20 Partington, R. (2019). Mark Carney tells global banks they cannot ignore climate change dangers. [online] the Guardian.
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PREFACE
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New Message: Draft Saved at 15:32, 20/04/2040
To: From: CC: Subject:
langen.v@doc.bbc.co.uk hirst.k@strathclyde-it.edu.uk comms@strathclyde-it.edu.uk
dean@strathclyde-it.edu.uk
RE: Interview Request
1 attachment: 39/11-19 - mycorrhizal_SD_RO_1.png
Dear Ms. Langen, Thank you for your enquiry into our program; and I would of course be delighted to provide a statement for your documentary. Please let me know if the statement below requires any additional information, and I’ll be happy to provide it. I’ve also attached the system-dialogue read out from our first mycorrhizal test with FERN, it has a special place in our hearts! The creation of FERN and the UNFCCC Forest Initiative stemmed from the growing global pressure to address what measures could be taken to inhibit climate change; following strikes in 2019 by students across the world, the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change convened and invited the public and experts at large to put forward suggestions for what action could be taken. In 2020, a shortlist of proposals was announced, including the Forest Initiative. Subsequently United Nations member states were invited to nominate a forest or biodiverse site, with a dozen allocated funding. Discussions were held throughout the ensuing years concerning the best approach to safeguarding these territories, with consultations and testimonies by experts such as foresters, ecologists, politicians, engineers and geographers paving the way for what the Forest Initiative is now. With the various locations each requiring very different parameters for care and maintenance due to their climates, it was suggested that an artificial intelligence system be created to analyse data coming from the forest and implement actions in their wards; hence a team of engineers and programmers was formed to build the system that would later become FERN. There are of course additional parameters to guide its decision-making, such as the protected status of humans (where “a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”) within its operational territory, and the prioritising of healthy specimens of each plant over those which may display obvious phenological symptoms and signal through the Common Mycelial Network (CMN) that they are in distress; in this case, what useful assets they still possess will be assimilated into the network prior to that specimen’s complete and total inevitable demise. In working on this project in collaboration with other global institutions we hope that FERN can bring balance to what’s left of the planet’s ecology, we have high hopes for what it can achieve and how it can develop. With Kindest Regards, Professor K. Hirst Head of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Strathclyde Institute of Technology (00.04)
Fig. (00.04)- Archived e-mail from 2040 detailing FERN’s inception. Source: K. Hirst, original member of FERN’s development team.
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Fig. (00.05) - Archived e-mail attachment, FERN’s first mycorrhizal system dialogue read-out. Source: K. Hirst, original member of FERN’s development team.
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Fig. (00.06)- Archived map detailing all UNFCCC Forest Iniative sites (2021)
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CHAPTER ONE: 2088
“The first principle is to point out the need for complete Nature Sanctuaries. They are essential if any of the original nature… is to be saved for future generations” -Victor E. Shelford, Ecological Society of America (1933)21
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UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Rothiemurchus Forest
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland (57.1762° N, 3.8174° W) This is an annual inspection report, evaluating the performance of the operating system at Rothiemurchus. Inspecting Officer: Dr. S. Mackenzie, Chief Forestry Officer, UN WiGISO Inspection Date: Previous Inspection Date:
02 - 31/01/2088 05/12/2096 - 08/01/2087
Overall Performance: Performance at Last Inspection:
Outstanding Outstanding
Effectiveness at mitigating climate change:
Outstanding
Effectiveness at habitat maintenance:
Outstanding
Management of forest growth:
Outstanding
Prospects for development:
Very Good
Surveillance and boundary defence:
Very Good
Documenting of species:
Outstanding
Summary of key findings This is an outstanding forest. • The operating system, FERN (Forest Engagement and Rehabilitation Network) continues to operate within the parameters of its key Baseline Objective: to ensure the survival of Rothiemurchus forest, its flora and fauna, with minimal loss of life, habitat and biodiversity. • Rothiemurchus hosts various woodland types and was selected for the UNFCCC Forest Initiative due to its exceptional biodiversity. It continues to maintain these to a remarkable standard. • Rothiemurchus also contains Europe’s most complete seed vault, with specimens of over 300,000 species collected and preserved. It also holds data from the Earth BioGenome Project, where the DNA sequences of all known species of animal, plant, protozoa and fungi were sequenced and stored, with the intention of aiding “protection and restoration of biodiversity across the planet”. • FERN has been given the option to operate offline for security purposes. This means that these annual inspections are crucial to ensure that Rothiemurchus is run smoothly.
• In recent years however, the forest’s wellbeing has been optimal, since the presence of humans was prohibited in 2080. This has allowed FERN’s systems to divert resources that would otherwise be used to repair the forest in the wake of humans to begin a stockpile reserve of nutritional minerals and has enabled it to instigate processes which help the system become self-sufficient. • FERN’s system is able to operate a Closed-Loop System within Rothiemurchus. • FERN is able to independently establish a digital connection with the forest’s existing mycorrhizal network, and manipulate its signals.
05/02/2088
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For the attention of: Office of Mr. H. Macleod Estate Manager Rothiemurchus Project Dear Mr. Macleod at the Rothiemurchus Project, As your newly appointed Chief Forestry Officer I am required to elaborate on my recent inspection findings with you, as well as my peers at the Wildlife Global Initiative Standards Office. Firstly, I would like to extend my thanks; the forest site has truly provided an eye-opening experience as I have stepped up to my post here, one I admit that I have never witnessed during my tenure at six other initiative sites across the world. Over the past thirty days, I have been tasked with patrolling its borders, plotting its growth curve, silently observing its bio-mech husbandry labs, charting both its ante and post-meridian nutrition cycles, and diligently invigilating the annual forest-wide genetic sequence audit. I can safely say that it is my utmost pleasure to award Rothiemurchus with the rank of Outstanding. This achievement, by no means an easy feat, is made even more remarkable by the fact that the project has sustained this grade for the twenty-fifth year running, notably during a time of exacerbated international tension. Whilst polls may indicate that the current public perception of the UN is less than favourable, the efforts of the Rothiemurchus team will continue to combat certain critical voices saying that our global initiative is “haemorrhaging funding”, “showing few concrete results”, and is an “overly idealistic and sentimental parade of power”. They simply don’t understand the crisis of natural scarcity we currently face. As members of the Rothiemurchus Project, you should stand proud, your forest is the standard-bearer for us all. First and foremost, it is my duty to review your assigned climate-zone alpha directive, which for Rothiemurchus of course, is the implementation of ultra-dense biodiversity sectors. Fortunately, the forest has established a world-wide reputation in this regard, and I was struck by it immediately. Since the forest gained international protection over fifty years ago in 2046, the site has flourished and now boasts thousands of species of plants, animals and fungi, as well as Europe’s most complete seed vault, with specimens of over 300,000 species collected and preserved. It also holds data from the Earth BioGenome Project, where the DNA sequences of all known species of animal, plant, protozoa and fungi have been sequenced and stored. This is the definition of number four of our 21 goals, “Aiding the protection and restoration of biodiversity across the planet”, well done.22 Furthermore, on behalf of the Initiative’s Ethics Committee, I would like to issue an official apology. The independent ruling made in 2080 by your superintendent A.I., FERN, to prohibit the presence of all human beings within the grounds was deemed 21 Keiter, R. (2003). Keeping Faith with Nature. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 22 Nicholson, E. (2018). Genetic code of every animal, plant and fungus in UK to be sequenced in Darwin Tree of Life project.
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highly controversial at the time, and sparked a disruptive debate questioning the very mandate by which an A.I. may govern. Fortunately, in the time that has since passed, FERN’s systems have been able to divert significant resources that would otherwise be used to repair the forest in the wake of human visitation, to begin a stockpile of unprecedented reserves of nutritional minerals such as phosphorus and sulphur. Consequently, Rothiemurchus has achieved a self-sufficiency quotient of 102.5%. Not only is the forest now able to operate on a Closed-Loop System, Rothiemurchus is now the only project to be biomass-positive; and is able to offset the energy costs of our new Glasgow research campus at the Strathclyde Institute of Technology. Typically, within my report notes I would attempt to briefly and systematically summarise the breadth of my observations. However, this year I find it difficult to shift my attention away from a legitimately ground-breaking discovery. During their prolonged residency, Rothiemurchus’ Hyphal Experimentation Research and Development (H.E.R.D.) Unit have been able to establish a digital link with the forest’s existing mycorrhizal network for the first time in history. I have been informed that ‘intervening biomimetic structures have enabled the network to become biologically inter-woven, where existing fungal structures have been repurposed as hyphal channels for bacterial dispersion’. Fortunately, Professor Wright was able to translate their work into layman’s terms; the H.E.R.D. unit has been able to grant FERN with a live, collective consciousness between itself and the organisms of the forest; the ability to read each and every plant’s condition and wellbeing has been exponentially improved, to the point where a forest-wide symbiosis has seemingly been achieved. Curiously, in being able to monitor and observe the signals being transmitted through the mycorrhizal network, the FERN system took its own team by surprise by deciphering the meaning behind particular allelochemicals (secondary metabolites produced by plants), as well as their significance in regulating the state of local flora. Furthermore, FERN proved able to replicate these signals via extremely small electrical discharges and has since began instructing trees and plants in how to most efficiently distribute their resources. Artificial Intelligence had long been able to argue and instruct23, but the HERD unit were visibly astonished to find that their system learned and pursued according to its own agenda; generating its own observations to achieve a general objective. In the unit’s work coming to fruition, it seems that they may have worked themselves out of a job! However, I’m confident this won’t be a problem for them, as I’ll next be seeing them at the prize ceremony in Stockholm! Not since 2018, when algorithm-based bio-visual data was first revealed, has a discovery in this field shown such a significant promise.24 Through the mycorrhizal network, FERN can build a three-dimensional virtual map, monitored and updated in real-time, supplied with information from the hyphae that form the network – a sensitive spider’s web of natural data. However, I feel compelled to deliver a warning, a discovery of this magnitude also comes with a hefty responsibility to fairly share your findings with the world. From my limited experience, I can already see these findings uprooting and revitalising our 23 Meyerson, B. (2019). AI That Can Argue and Instruct. [online] Scientific American. 24 Maxmen, A. (2018). Deep Learning Sharpens Views of Cells and Genes. Scientific American
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overstretched agricultural sector, the data that FERN transmits regarding its network and management tactics will prove invaluable in the coming years. The likes of park rangers, horticulturalists and tree surgeons worldwide will be clamouring for this ecologically sound diagnosis tool. I too, hope to one day implement a similar system for my personal micro-orchard; I can never get more than two apple crumbles out of my crop per year! Yet I must admit that I may be a little too starry-eyed about where this technology will take us. Certainly now, scalability seems like a significant issue, the major flaw in the system being signal degradation across the forest. As part of my inspection, I was fortunate enough to receive a guided tour through hides around the perimeter of the forest, observing the literal agents of change under FERN’s employ. As part of FERN’s suite of custom hardware there are autonomous machines, robots, which carry out physical tasks required to maintain and protect the forest. Professor Hudson was kind enough in helping me precis their history for the record. While initially stemming from prototype quadrupeds developed at the start of the 21st Century by the likes of Alphabet, Boston Dynamics and Amazon (intended for logistical applications in commercial and military contexts); zoomorphic robotics, led by pioneering companies such as Festo, has grown to employ intelligent and adaptive kinematics inherent to the animals they mimic. 25 26 Today I have witnessed robotic forest custodians that are innately adept at traversing the difficult terrain which these habitats display, as their real-life counterparts evolved to do so optimally.27 Of note is the recent ability for FERN (currently with the assistance of Rothiemurchus’ engineers) to procedurally generate improved, or even completely new, schematics for previously unimaginable robots, selected and built based on the forest’s needs. While sitting alone in the North-West hide, I witnessed one type of robot which has remained fixed in my mind. Displaying a biped frame complete with a counterbalanced “head”, which apparently slides to adjust its centre of gravity, this machine was not like any animal I have encountered, yet through its movement and behaviour appears just as natural as the organic life around it. Strangely, they appear to have a propinquity towards shyness and travel in groups, could this be because they’re the first generation of robots to not be born of human hands? Is this just a self-preservation response? As a personal note, I’d prefer to see some of their robotic brethren take a few design cues from them; for example, the F.O.C.C.S. series may be effective automata, but they leave me with an uneasy sensation when I see their cold, unnerving stare. Lastly, despite my decision to award the Rothiemurchus Project with an Outstanding grade this year, it would be remiss of me not to pass on a few words of caution. The ability for FERN to self-perceive is pioneering, particularly in its capacity for “distributed, decentralised and probabilistic” error correction and systemic processes.28 Moreover, the forest now being able to self-sustain is a boon, and has far exceeded the initial intentions for the project. However, I must implore you to continue to remain true to our mutual vision of the eventual accessibility of nature to everyone, there is a fine line between an independent forest project and an isolated one, please be sure to 25 Metz, C. (2019). Inside Google’s Rebooted Robotics Program. [online] Nytimes.com 26 Festo.com. (2018). BionicFlyingFox | Festo Corporate. 27 Goldman, J. (2019). What Birds Can Teach Us About Flying Robots. [online] Scientific American. 28 Clayton, N. (2019). The Self-Repairing Computer That Never Crashes. [online] WSJ
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17:34:08
500
35
14:23:37
500
35
20:48:18
500
35
(01.01)
Fig. (01.01)- Recorded images of FERN robots, site inspection. Source: S. Mackenzie, 2088.
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tread carefully. I do not mean to dampen your spirits by adopting this tone, but there have been a few small events I have observed that, while technically sound, have given me cause for concern. For example, following rumours of a confidential specimen data leak from the Østmarka Forest Project in Norway, it was apparently decided that FERN be given the option to operate offline29. The result of which, combined with its digital fortifications, has meant that human contact with FERN needs to be established with notice, at a secure physical contact node, of which there are only three: one in the UNFCCC Headquarters in Geneva, one in Glasgow and one in the forest itself. While the inspection has proven that FERN abides by 2095 Post-Quantum Cryptographic standards, it is concerning to see your internal comms team take such a technologically regressive step in response to security concerns. While I must grade you highly for your commitment to security, it is this type of knee-jerk reaction to wild hearsay and conjecture that has been spreading about data leaks from within the UN project that undermines our collective effort, as if the ongoing investigation into my predecessor’s whereabouts is not already damning enough. The forest itself can be seen as a singular machine, existing on a much greater timescale than any of us individually. I implore you all to focus on long-term thinking, each move you make will impact our descendants. Despite this, your grade remains thoroughly well-deserved, and as such I would like to end my report on a positive note: please can you keep a jar of the robotically-induced honey from your Hybrid Apiary set aside for my return, it is an utter a marvel, I’ll have it with my morning porridge!
Yours sincerely, Dr. S. Mackenzie United Nations Wildlife Global Initiative Standards Office (UN WiGISO)
29 Welz, A. (2017). Unnatural Surveillance: How Online Data Is Putting Species at Risk. [online] Yale E360.
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CHAPTER TWO: 2090
“I like to think (right now please!) of a cybernetic forest filled with pines and electronica where deer stroll peacefully past computers as if they were flowers with spinning blossoms�30 -Richard Brautigan, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, 1967
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UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Rothiemurchus Forest
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland (57.1762° N, 3.8174° W) This is an annual inspection report, evaluating the performance of the operating system at Rothiemurchus. Inspecting Officer: Dr. S. Mackenzie, Chief Forestry Officer, UN WiGISO Inspection Date: Previous Inspection Date:
02 - 27/02/2090 09/01 - 04/02/2089
Overall Performance: Performance at Last Inspection:
Cause for Concern Outstanding
Effectiveness at mitigating climate change:
Outstanding
Effectiveness at habitat maintenance:
Outstanding
Management of forest growth:
Outstanding
Prospects for development:
Inadequate
Surveillance and boundary defence: Documenting of species:
Good Requires Improvement
Summary of key findings This is a good forest, but its results have diverged from our objectives. • The operating system, FERN (Forest Engagement and Rehabilitation Network) continues to operate within the parameters of its key Baseline Objective: to ensure the survival of Rothiemurchus forest, its flora and fauna, with minimal loss of life, habitat and biodiversity. • The rate at which FERN is coppicing, growing and replanting trees is unsustainable; it has not yet been made clear when it intends to ease its rate of tree reproduction. • FERN has also failed to submit regular reports on its inventory of species on the intranet. • FERN has deviated from prescribed methodology,choosing instead to act in a less predictable way. There is a reported incident of outside contact with local inhabitants. • A manual intervention or a patch may be required, should this activity continue. Close surveillance will be required; a follow-up inspection in 3 months has been requested.
• Communication from FERN, as mentioned above, has been intermittent. • Given Rothiemurchus’ impeccable history thus far, FERN has been flagged up in the system, with scope for formal penalties, such as FERN’s offline priviliges being revoked. • This has been referred to Norway’s Forestry Officer for follow-up, and made available to all UNFCCC Forest Initiative staff for comment.
08/03/2090
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For the attention of: Office of Mr. H. Macleod Estate Manager Rothiemurchus Project
Dear Hamish, Please allow me to clarify your grade upfront. This is the third time I have visited you and your team here at the Rothiemurchus Project, and I cannot deny that what I have witnessed has been extraordinary. Yet I say this in the sense that what has passed before my eyes has not been ordinary, even by your usual standards. I have elected to set your grade at ‘Cause for Concern’, not because the project seems sub-standard as a whole, but due to my inability to properly quantify it within my given criteria. I do not mean to spread panic among your staff with this grade, I realise that three other initiative sites have gone dark in as many months, and I would like to wholeheartedly reassure you that this was entirely the result of our internal decisions, which I regrettably am not at liberty to disclose at this time. Please rest assured that we use the information we gather here with your best interests in mind. To my mind, my judgement this year has become flawed due to a single overwhelming issue: FERN’s level of independence. The AI has apparently taken the Rothiemurchus forest past a point of no return and clearly exhibits an independent mind; the team has collectively moved from micromanaging FERN to purely observing it, studying its habits as it thrives within its woodland-body, and I have had no other choice except to join them. I originally found my lack of access to all on-site research hubs to be grounds for citation, given my level-1 clearance, yet I shall waive the issue seeing as ingress points are no longer in your control. This time I shall note it as an inconvenience. Evidently FERN has concluded that it requires different housing. Seeing the entirety of the project as a single ecosystem, FERN has been harvesting all materials readily available on site, including naturally occurring organic products and waste, as well as the existing lab and seed vault spaces; locking us out seems to be its way of cauterising the wound left behind on the structure as it eats away. Yet it appears to show commitment to its original programming; the connections to the original seed vault pods (fig. 02.01) still appear to be live. FERN has proven to be less than forthcoming with the details of its construction schedule. From what technicians have ascertained, the A.I. is primarily concerned with merging its server farm with the seed vault to become, what it now calls, the Ark (fig.02.02). The limited information they gleaned from intercepted data packets was able to be reconstructed into simulation results for the construction of a weather resistant exterior ‘shell’, to be made from a mixture of quicklime and limestone. It seems to now turn to nature for inspiration, 30 Brautigan, R. (1967). All watched over by machines of loving grace. [San Francisco]: Communication Company.
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(02.01)
Fig. (02.01-2)- Images of the Ark, retrieved from FERN’s data, showing how some machines dock and the seed vaults in an exposed state, risen out of the loch. Source: FERN, Rothiemurchus Data Team. (02.02)
37
not our structures; by equipping a new generation of B.E.E. worker drones with micro-extrusion proboscises, they are able to lay down thin layers of limestone slurry harvested from the site’s pre-existing limestone kiln and its waste on the beds of Loch an Eilein.31 In terms of form, the structure appears to derive its appearance from termite mounds, or hornets’ nests, yet built at such a pace to be rapidly adaptive to its surroundings. If there were a place to summarise how the boundaries of nature and super-nature (i.e. “enhanced” nature; bred, tweaked, blended and implanted) are being blurred within Rothiemurchus forest, the Ark is saturated with it; the openings in the envelope appear to burst open from the inside with a cacophony of myceloid tissue. Unfortunately, further information about the Ark remains patchy at best, it is a shame that our observations are largely limited to multi-surface LIDAR scans and high-altitude drone mapping, both conducted at a sub-optimal distance. Yet some curious oddities have emerged nonetheless; my personal favourite was the discovery of perfect reproduction of the Wassily Chair from my habitation unit yet made entirely from (what seemed to be) lichen! Apparently, FERN’s human upbringing has left it corrupted with a penchant for modernist furniture. The Distanced Authorship Advisory Committee was left fuming upon hearing the news, it seems the human touch can never be fully eradicated. Meanwhile, the entire Ark structure apparently acts as a hub, by tracking robotic patrol patterns it has been revealed that the Ark is being used as a central node, where repairs, maintenance and general storage is conducted, while also ensuring constant supervision of the seed vaults. The architecture facilitates the role of the individual worker and the health of its queen, and therefore the overall colony. FERN exercises its own judgement on what to construct and demolish. As a learning system, it has the capability to perceive its own form, and is tentatively testing its capabilities; its adaptive architecture reflects that.32 Its adaptive approach is applied to multiple applications, as the system now opts to construct its machines from natural materials. While not unheard of, this seems a surprising choice, given that it still retains access to the project’s robotic component stores.33 Like insect colonies, the system and its components respond to change in its environment, anticipating the needs of the forest and rising to meet them. As such, the robots that FERN had initially been supplied with have been adapted and expanded, with at least five known morphologies of machine that carry out the maintenance and protection of the forest (see also fig.02.03): 1) The “B.E.E.” (Basic Environmental Engineer) – the only known flying machine, these have been observed to fly over the forest in vast swarms; appearing as murmurations as starlings once did. Their strength lies in their ability to break down complex labours into micro tasks to be conducted in parallel. For example, they appear to have two main duties. In their thousands they will facilitate pollination across the entire forest and have the capacity within 31 Pei, E. (2016). 3D Printing Limestone - Repurposing Portland Stone Waste - 3D Printing. 32 Newscientist.com. (2019). Self-taught robot figures out what it looks like and what it can do. 33 Futurism. (2019). Living Machines: These Robots Are Made from Living Tissue
38
their hollow vessels to carry up to 100ml of liquid, whether it be water or a combination of magnesium, sodium chloride and potassium chloride to carry out cloud seeding operations.34 They are also able to collect, mix, and lay down thin layers of building material as previously mentioned. While this type resembles the shape of bumblebees of the past, they are large enough to intimidate the average bird. 2) The “B.A/R.C.” (Biological Assessment/Refuse Collector) – possibly the least zoomorphic machine that FERN has created, the bark machine walks on two spindly legs, and it seems as though its responsibilities lie in monitoring the forests’ microclimates, ensuring that the forest’s plants and creatures are enjoying favourable conditions, whilst also allowing FERN to survey the forest beyond its mycorrhizal network. 3) The “B.E.A.V.E.R.” (Buzzsaw-Equipped Arboreal Value Extractor and Re-planter) – this machine carries out the tree surgery, pruning and coppicing requirements of the forest (a bizarrely human task which I shall elaborate on in due course); it also attends to obstructions to animal and water traffic, using its inbuilt blades and saws to dispatch any unwanted large debris and branches. 4) The “F.O.C.C.S.” (Forest Oversight Custodian and Coordinate Surveyor) – an original member of FERN’s roster, the F.O.C.C.S. has since evolved, but its responsibilities remain; it patrols the periphery of the forest in search of any external threats to the system. In the past, they have apprehended poachers, black market collectors and trespassers (these have included the straying livestock, as mentioned below), by means of tranquilising. 5) The “S.T.Ag.” (Sizeable Task Aggregator) – the largest known machine, the deer is tasked with hauling large and cumbersome objects (helpfully cut down to manageable sizes by the “B.E.A.V.E.R.”), as well as transporting saplings and cuttings; they have also been known to transport sedated trespassers to the edge of the forest, where authorities may intercept them. As for incorporating plant and biological matter into the construction of robotics, it is the first example seen outside of laboratory conditions, where rudimentary robotics with mechanics informed by plant behaviour had been built35. These machines are in and of themselves small architectures, with the intent of controlling and monitoring an environment within which built components are arrayed. This idea is far from new; in the late 1960s the group Archigram devised the L.A.W.U.N., or Locally Available World Unseen Networks (figs. 02.04-5), and the bottery (fig. 02.06), defined as “a fully serviced natural landscape”. The group pioneered the idea of a natural landscape for humans to enjoy, maintained by robots, with services paid for at service station assemblages resembling rocks and logs embedded into the natural forms of the terrain. I have only recently recovered the project notes from our archive despite the clear similarities to the Rothiemurchus Project; I thoroughly recommend that you view it yourself as it may continue to be prophetic. 34 Brown, J. (2018). Is cloud seeding the answer to our unstable weather?. [online] The Independent. 35 Knight, S. (2019). Turning plants into machines. [online] Let it Grow
39
2m
1m
0m i. “B.E.E.”
ii. “B.A/R.C.”
iii. “B.E.A.V.E.R.”
FOREST HEALTH fire control, pollination, atmosphere, rapid response
FOREST WELFARE surveillance, habitat balance, animal and plant conditions
FOREST GROWTH coppicing, pruning, tree surgery, obstruction clearance
20 000 units
500 units
100 units
above, throughout
throughout
throughout
hive
exhaustive
docking
(02.03)
Fig. (02.03) - Illustrative diagram outlining the known machine morphologies that FERN employs.
R.”
TH e surgery, ance
iv. “F.O.C.C.S.”
iv. “S.T.Ag.”
FOREST DEFENCE FOREST LIFE SUPPORT deterrant of outside interference, patrol, haulage, distribution, planting, propagation, soil conditions, disease containment guardian, prescribed burning
100 units
50 units
periphery
throughout
docking
docking
(02.04)
(02.05)
Fig. (02.04-5)- Archigram’s ideas regarding Locally World Unseen Networks, Rokplugs and Logplugs. Image Credit: Archigram. Fig. (02.06) - Archigram’s ideas detailing a bottery. Image Credit: Archigram. (02.06)
42
(02.07)
(02.08)
Fig. (02.07-8)- Abstract illustrations of mycorrhizal networks. Image credit: Enzo PÊrès-Labourdette for the New Yorker. Fig. (02.09)- Image of a fungal mycelium, which resemble mycorrhiza. Image credit: The Guardian, Alamy. (02.09)
43
Yet, by my opinion, what advances the Rothiemurchus Project’s thinking from that are the technological leaps and bounds made over the past 120 years; we are fortunate to have the ability at our fingertips to not only create machinery that functions as part of an “unseen network” in the landscape, but also to be able to manipulate a network already put in place for us by nature (figs. 02.07-9). They were correct in that this move would necessitate a different kind of architecture (the specific requirements of which have only really begun to come to light in the past few decades), which we are now witnessing. Over the past few years, evidence has emerged shining light on the forest’s integrated robotic life cycles. By observing the long-term rhythms of forest life, FERN appears to have matured. Its actions display respect for the sanctity of life, yet it remains unsentimental; it sees all life around it as renewable. The forest’s robotic stewards attend to gestational cellulose sacs, where saplings and coppiced poles are grown before being robust enough to be planted outside; given the less forgiving outdoor climate.36 Once they have run out of energy they can be seen to dock into hardwired burrows, or nest in hives. They have even been noted to display ritualistic behaviour as they wear out; and head out alone into the wilderness to expire, shortly followed by their kin which collect and recycle their remaining functional components. However, it is easy to remove oneself from this essentially violent act until one witnesses the system’s same approach to wildlife, which sees culling as an occasional necessity to maintain harmony; played out as a grotesque performance, resulting in the like of ravens ensnared in reinforced webbing, or deer carcasses becoming rapidly skinned and eviscerated for biofuel. Each decision made within the forest signals the prioritisation of long-term growth. Of note, FERN has now adopted a tendency to coppice. An ancient practice, dating back to Neolithic times in Britain, it seemingly saw its decline in the mid-20th Century; however, as part of FERN’s database of useful knowledge, woodland management and forestry strategies were uploaded as an essential component of its informed decisionmaking. As part of its fulfilment of its objectives, FERN coppices trees without birds or mammals nesting within or beneath them; this enables the larger fauna of the forest to survive and thrive, while coppicing in general is a boon for invertebrates, which of course replenishes and maintains the natural food chain within the forest. As such, FERN is careful in which parts (or “panels”) of woodland it chooses to coppice. In a rather beautiful mix of nature and machine-thinking, when plotted in plan, the system’s tree coppicing selection paths emanate from the Ark in a pristine dendritic pattern. As coppicing is a deciduous-specific process, the means of stump culture (fig.02.10) can be applied to conifers, such as the forests’ pines and firs.37 While not as established as coppicing, historically this has been employed when commercial Christmas tree forestry was still a common practice: the stump is cut above the lowest row of branches, which themselves can continue to grow, and the retained upper portion of the tree may be transplanted as smaller cuttings. With a lower success rate than 36 Fuller, R. and Warren, M. (1993). Coppiced woodlands: their management for wildlife. [online] Norfolk: Joint Nature Conservation Committee 37 Katsnelson, A. (2018). Stump-Grown Christmas Trees Are the Gift That Keeps on Giving. [online] Smithsonian.
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DECIDUOUS TREES: COPPICING
TRANSPLANTED
• CUT TO STUMP • CUT EVERY ~8-15 YEARS
RETAINED
• ALSO REPRODUCE VIA FLOWER
TRANSPLANTED
CONIFEROUS TREES: STUMP CULTURE
• CUT ABOVE FIRST SET OF BRANCHES • CUT EVERY ~5 YEARS
RETAINED
• ALSO REPRODUCE VIA CONE
(02.10)
Fig. (02.10)- Diagram to illustrate coppicing and stump culture practices.
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(02.11)
Fig. (02.11)- Image of the Rothiemurchus forest boundary. Source: S. Mackenzie (2090) Fig. (02.12) - Archival image of prescribed burning. Image Credit: Eric Knapp, U.S. Forest Service. (02.12)
46
deciduous coppicing, the numerous cuttings harvested from one tree nonetheless allow a consistent source of new trees to exist. The key is cutting the tree in the winter, when dormant, and sourcing branches that have matured in the past year. 38 No wonder the employee lounge has 12 Christmas (rather bare) trees this year. The Rothiemurchus Project team was kind enough to extrapolate their coppicing data into a trend analysis chart at my request. The data clearly outlines an exponential density increase within the next decade well beyond your operational limits. This scenario was given little concern at the inception of the project, but the forest that FERN maintains groans under its imposed boundaries (fig. 02.11). With many other initiative sites around the world failing to meet their promises, while Rothiemurchus thrives, a new question needs to be raised: should the forest be released? While it is beyond my remit to action new strategies, I will certainly raise the issue at committee level. Perhaps it might be time for the planet’s conditional trajectory to be thrown back into reverse, and allow forests to recolonise the globe? I would like to share with you several pieces of historical evidence I would perhaps build my case upon: Firstly, In the wake of the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011), high levels of radiation remain prevalent to this day and human presence continues to be limited. Despite these man-made disasters inflicting devastation upon their surrounding landscapes; an aberrant form of nature took hold in these hostile environments.39 In the case of Chernobyl, several cuckoo species mutated or displayed phenological symptoms which made them unreliable for reproduction to the extent that even cuckoos living within the exclusion zone had different calls from their external counterparts.40 41 We often raise this example as precedent when the validity of FERN and its actions is questioned; we have argued before that the we must protect nature from damaging, man-made effects such as climate change. Although, I have recently begun to see this evidence in a new light, as I become more philosophical in my old age. To me now, nature will apparently survive regardless of our actions, yet this may not be a form of nature beneficial to our species, and many others we care for. To have allowed the forest to succumb and adapt to climate change would have condemned our last biodiverse forest site to be compromised. Yet currently, Rothiemurchus represents a nature we can benefit from, and should be released and allowed to expand, with the added resilience FERN has been able to embed. To continue to isolate the forest at this stage could lead it down a path where it no longer resembles a nature we can live with. Secondly, for centuries prior to when our project was enacted, managers of Rothiemurchus have employed controlled burnings (fig.02.12) to dispel invasive plant species, weeds and fungi, and routinely clear debris and deadwood which would otherwise pose as a fire hazard for natural, unmanaged, fires. The fire would encourage 38 Morse, S. (n.d.). How to Grow Pine Trees from Cuttings. [online] Hunker 39 Hopkin, M. (2005). Chernobyl ecosystems ‘remarkably healthy’. [online] nature: International weekly journal of science. 40 Barras, C. (2019). The Chernobyl exclusion zone is arguably a nature reserve. [online] Bbc.co.uk 41 Møller, A., Morelli, F., Mousseau, T. and Tryjanowski, P. (2016). The number of syllables in Chernobyl cuckoo calls reliably indicate habitat, soil and radiation levels. Ecological Indicators, 66, pp.592-597.
47
stronger trees to thrive with available nutrients and water, whilst burning weaker, undeveloped trees (who compete for these resources) whose ashes can nourish the soil.42 Large fires have historically been a blessing to Rothiemurchus’ regeneration.43 Species such as the Scots Pine (the most prevalent species in the forest, despite the recent surge of deciduous species due to the increase of the local average temperature by 3°C in the past fifty years) are well-equipped for controlled burnings with their thick bark and lack of low-hanging branches.44 Fire is something we have long considered controversial for FERN’s system; both in terms of preventing fires, but also in the case of utilising it. The risk had initially been marked by FERN as too great to embark upon at this time due to the forest’s limited containment zone, should the entire project become engulfed in flames; instead, small-scale burnings are carried out and carefully supervised by the robots as envoys of FERN, and are on a regimented schedule on select portions of land, careful to avoid areas of predominantly birch plantations as their delicate low branches will be irreversibly damaged by heat from the scrub below. Freeing the forest could greatly mitigate the risk of these fires, adding a much stronger tool to FERN’s arsenal. The central location of the Ark allows for the best position to survey the surrounding territory, but its potential to ‘re-wild’ a greater portion of the country cannot be denied; if it could enable its seed vault specimens to reproduce, it could endlessly re-forest larger swathes of land as it produces more and more machines to distribute and plant before they expire. Thankfully we can draw from previous successful rewilding schemes in the Scottish Highlands from the 2020s to better plan our own.45 Historically, the site was an estate was under the management of the Grant family, where the forest comprised of several acquired parcels of land that were merged under the umbrella of Rothiemurchus. The re-wilding of the land entailed reversing damaging land management enacted by the Grants’ forebears, and restoring the land to a healthy state, resembling how they were hundreds of years ago. Their scheme involved the removal of damaging invasive species, and the manipulation of ditches to control the levels of water in the Highlands, with the restoration of more boglands throughout the Cairngorm forests to better serve the local wildlife. Other forests in Europe were targeted by the Endangered Landscapes Programme but only fragments of these rewilded landscapes remained unscathed.46 Interventions such as this meant that the forests in the Cairngorms thrived and became robust enough to be considered a contender in the UK’s shortlist of forests to be presented to the United Nations Framework for Climate Change, which then became the basis for our selection of this site. The added benefits of the site’s altitude, latitude and remoteness meant that its location stood a better chance of avoiding the adverse effects of rising oceans and temperatures, or at least to delay the exposure of the chosen forest to them (other contenders were precluded from consideration in the later stages as coastal proximity 42 Little, J. B. (2018). Fighting Fire with Fire: California Turns to Prescribed Burning. [online] Yale E360. 43 Ratcliffe, P. R. (1999) Rothiemurchus: The Forest, its Ecology and Future Management 44 Ratcliffe, P. R. (1999) Rothiemurchus: The Forest, its Ecology and Future Management 45 Carrell, S. (2019). Danish billionaires plan to rewild large swath of Scottish Highlands. [online] the Guardian 46 McKie, R. (2018). Caledonia’s lost forest to be restored to glory in £23m rewilding. [online] the Guardian
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was taken into account). Today, in mitigating the effects of atmospheric changes, FERN is aided by the fact that its location has not suffered too drastic a change in the past century, as compared to the rest of the world; Svalbard’s seed vault is due to fail in the next decade47 as the vast amounts of melting snow and ice threaten to flood the facility; in the Scottish Highlands, melting snow and ice, even in vast quantities, are accounted for and managed by mostly natural means, as they flow towards lochs and rivers, eventually carried far from the forest. Of course, I shall keep you informed as to whether my committee recommendation gains traction; I believe I am not alone in this way of thinking at least. Before I sign off once more, I feel it best to share with you one last insight. It appears FERN’s catalogue of knowledge has added romantic landscaping methodologies to its repertoire, in particular, cropping by livestock to reduce undergrowth.48 Perhaps it would be prudent of me to recite a small piece of 2065 legislation at this point. In accordance with the Ethical Carnism Act (2065 ASP 3): “Livestock farming permits will be limited to 100 small-yield farming businesses within the nation, to foster the proliferation of lab-grown meat products and plant-based substitutes.”49 From my time at Rothiemurchus, I can now personally attest to the fact that signals going in and out of the forest are notoriously difficult to intercept, yet after discovering his cattle wondering across the forest boundary, a local farmer claims to have been issued a permit by FERN to allow his livestock to graze around the periphery of the forest. I doubt I will be the only one to connect the facts that FERN cannot contact the outside; the farmer has been able to vastly inflate the value of his meat; and you’ve recently added a heated swimming chamber to your habitation unit. I’ll save your reprimand for later, consider yourself lucky that this incident conveniently aids my argument for the forest’s release right now. Until next time, Yours faithfully, Shona
47 Adakudlu, M., Andresen et al. (2019). Climate in Svalbard 2100. NCCS Report. [online] Norwegian Environment Agency 48 Roder, W., Gratzer, G. and Wangdi, K. (2002). Cattle Grazing in the Conifer Forests of Bhutan. Mountain Research and Development, 22(4), pp.368-374. 49 Carrington, D. (2018). World’s first lab-grown steak revealed – but the taste needs work. [online] the Guardian
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CHAPTER THREE: 2098
“What about the forests? You don’t think anyone should care about these forests? What’s going to happen if these forests and all this incredible beauty is lost for all time?” -Freeman Lowell, Silent Running50
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UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Rothiemurchus Forest
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland (57.1762° N, 3.8174° W) This is an annual inspection report, evaluating the performance of the operating system at Rothiemurchus. Inspecting Officer: Dr. S. Mackenzie, Chief Forestry Officer, UN WiGISO Inspection Date: Previous Inspection Date:
03-24/06/2098 08 - 29/03/2097
Overall Performance: Performance at Last Inspection:
Inadequate Cause for Concern
Effectiveness at mitigating climate change:
Outstanding
Effectiveness at habitat maintenance:
Outstanding
Management of forest growth:
Outstanding Inadequate
Prospects for development:
Good
Surveillance and boundary defence:
Requires Improvement
Documenting of species:
Summary of key findings This is a forest with immediate cause for concern • The operating system, FERN (Forest Engagement and Rehabilitation Network) has severed all forms of communication with the UNFCCC. • The remains of Arthur Duncan, a civilian believed to be behind the decommissioning of the Rothiemurchus barrier, have been retrieved from the Ark site. • These, and others recovered, are believed to have been partially digested by a type of organism, perhaps engineered by FERN. • As a result of the boundary being disabled, the forest has begun to spread rapidly at a rate of 10 15 m/ day towards Inverness, Aberedeen and Edinburgh. • As similar events are occuring at other UNFCCC Forest Initiative sites, an emergency meeting is scheduled to take place in Geneva on 05/01/2100. • Efforts to disable FERN remotely have been unsuccessful. • The Rothiemurchus Seed vault is still intact and operational, however it is unclear as to whether any
of its seeds have been planted or extracted from the vault. • This has been made available to all UNFCCC Forest Initiative staff for comment and information: PLEASE DO NOT DISTRIBUTE - FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY.
03/08/2098
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Please forward to: Mr. H. Macleod Former Estate Manager Rothiemurchus Project
Dear Hamish, I hope this letter finds you well. I’ve no doubt that this message will have come as a surprise, seeing as we haven’t communicated since the Rothiemurchus Project was formally decommissioned over five years ago. I thought it prudent to inform you that I was requested to conduct a final inspection; I’ve included a copy of our last report for your appraisal. Unfortunately, I’ve been required to redact much of the original document seeing as we’re no longer colleagues. However, given your tireless commitment to the initiative, and the warm welcome you gave me all those years ago, I’m passing on this information as a friend. Firstly, I thought it would best to tell you before you see it in the news. Despite my efforts, the release of the forest was not actually our doing, the bill granting the barrier’s fall had stalled at the time. It seems that after the research centre was vacated, an activist was finally successful at sneaking in and reaching the barrier’s manual override switch. Regardless, we’d already prepared a strategy for the scenario, and as you may have heard, our oversight of FERN is now international. The AI has been able to successfully transplant itself and has begun to connect to other equivalent networks around the world, establishing a collectivised model to managing nature; able to produce and place forests in response to the climate, anticipate change and rise to meet it, merge with an existing technology and streamline the process of tackling the longstanding abundance of greenhouse gases.51 You may be pleased to hear that much of the data you gathered has gone on to form the basis of numerous edicts preventing forests from being exploited for commercial or personal gain. Rothiemurchus has been allowed to flourish, encroaching into the surrounding urban areas, with some fauna showing their faces to humans for the first time in seventy years. More outposts of FERN’s Ark are due to be constructed to house more robots, as well as grow saplings in controlled conditions prior to their planting in the “wild”. Other databases recording native animal species’ DNA are working to either import or clone formerly native animals, taking advantage of the rise of a hospitable environment to re-establish ecosystems previously extinct. In this, a true symbiosis can be reached between man, nature and machine. In carrying out this inspection I have (for the first time) ventured into the heart of 50 Silent Running. (1972). [film] Directed by D. Trumbull. Universal Pictures. 51 Jones, N. (2018). Can Artificial Intelligence Help Build Better, Smarter Climate Models?. [online] Yale E360.
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(03.01)
Fig. (03.01)- Image of a fresco from the Villa of Livia. Image Credit: Garibotti Photogaphy. Fig. (03.02) - Archival image, Stefano Boeri’s proposal for “vertical forest” project in Nanjing (2017). Image Credit: Stefano Boeri via Dezeen. (03.02)
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Rothiemurchus alone. As part of a three-day expedition, I found myself recalling our old conversations, and pontificating. You told me of the Gaia hypothesis52, where “living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings in order to maintain a [mutually beneficial] and self-regulating, complex system”. I see now that we have set in place a foundation for more considerate interaction between humanity and nature; now our spaces may need to adjust to accommodate this new influx of wildlife, and in the process begin a long-term duty of care. When opportunities arise in the form of new structures and new buildings, as the forest spreads towards them, they have the potential to cultivate and nurture this integration of nature within the built environment; for millennia, architects have sought to integrate the atmosphere of nature into their spaces, from even the myths of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon , to frescoes (Fig.03.01) on the walls of the Villa of Livia (39 BC) depicting abundant woodlands, to the 19th Century Palm and Temperate Houses in Kew Gardens, which are as popular as ever, to the 21st Century’s attempts to integrate plants into building proposals, with balconies overflowing with vines and leaves. The value and significance of nature as a sublime and perfect source of inspiration throughout civilisation was unfortunately diluted to predominantly an aesthetic appreciation in recent history, where houseplants, while always popular, saw a surge of popularity in the 21st Century as young adults sought cheap-and-cheerful solutions to furnishing their rental properties.53 Architects such as Stefano Boeri (Fig.03.02) were known for their persistent designs of “vertical forests” and these have come to reflect an undying appetite for the aesthetic of the natural, of life.54 Yet, I hope our efforts will allow the world to see the systemic value of nature, rather than purely as a dressing. However, the deeper feeling of nature being something bestowed to Earth (and therefore humanity) by a higher power is intrinsic to our appreciation of it, as it is often understood that nature does not belong to us, nor do we have sovereignty over it; in many cases, humanity is appointed as a custodian, or guardian of other life.55 Therefore, as something created outside of our influence, wildlife has always had a divine aspect to it that has been valued by society. Today, the value of plants and nature are proportionate to their “wildness”; that is to say, whether they grew in a nursery, or in the “wild”. This value or commodification of nature could prove fortunate, should it turn to appreciation; a respect for it, or at least a recognition of the mutualism between us, could enable us to build as forest-dwellers. I believe we are about to earn a newfound mutual respect for our environment; as when the sale of fossil fuel-consuming vehicles was banned across western Europe in 2040 (with of Asia and North America following suit soon afterwards), so can the construction of buildings that act as aggressors towards wildlife now be stemmed.56 As other UNFCCC Initiative forests expand from their dismantled boundaries, their 52 Gaia Hypothesis, En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Gaia hypothesis. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Gaia_hypothesis 53 Biggs, C. (2018). Plant-Loving Millennials at Home and at Work. [online] Nytimes.com 54 Mairs, J. (2017). Stefano Boeri reveals plans for tree-covered towers in Nanjing. [online] Dezeen. 55 UN Environment. (n.d.). How religions are involved in environmental protection. [online] 56 Asthana, A. and Taylor, M. (2017). Britain to ban sale of all diesel and petrol cars and vans from 2040. [online] the Guardian
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countries are enjoying the effects of re-wilding; upcoming projects involving vertical gardens near encroaching woodlands are being put on hold, as our built environment is now being seen as a substrate for nature, not a dressing for us. Unfortunately, I feel I must also deliver some uncomfortable news. A sample I collected from the Ark’s outer shell has tested positive for the DNA of a Mr. G. Dougal, the inspector I replaced in 2088. I would like to extend my sincere condolences. I realise it may not be much comfort, but the lab technicians mentioned that the sample contained only a single tooth; we only have small scraps of evidence, but it seems likely that his passing was not the result of any malicious action. In most likelihood, he succumbed to an injury sustained as part of an accident while trekking alone. FERN would have seen his remains as those of any other creature and instructed that they be put to good use. I can reassure you that at the UNFCCC initiative, situations like these are extremely rare, and we are fully trained in advanced survival techniques. Sadly, accidents can befall the best of us. When I first entered the forest, the sensation of FERN’s gaze on me filled me with trepidation, as if our duties were to observe each other. I wonder how future generations will see FERN as its presence as an AI becomes obscured by history, perhaps as a woodland spirit maybe? Once again, I’ll try to end on a positive note. One of my more delightful secondary duties on this visit has been to assess the forest’s safety standard, so native zoo specimens may be reintroduced, and educational visits may be planned. When my granddaughter starts school next year, perhaps you and I could lead their class on a tour? It appears that, perhaps this time, humanity can learn from its mistakes and turn the tides on our era of mass extinction. Aided by technology which allows us to judge more objectively, humanity can better function in a way that does not corrupt the planet as compared to before. Perhaps, soon, we can begin a new epoch, where humanity and nature enjoy a mutualistic symbiosis and the planet can once again thrive. Best Regards, Shona
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CONCLUSION
“The architecture of tomorrow will be a means of modifying present conceptions of time and space. It will be a means of knowledge and a means of action. The architectural complex will be modifiable. Its aspect will change totally or partially in accordance with the will of its inhabitants.� -Ivan Chtcheglov, aka Gilles Ivain, Formulary for a New Urbanism57
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When developing the narrative for a fictional future, the fear of seeming alarmist or hyperbolic is all too present. Yet it should always be the goal of anyone working in the production of our built environment to anticipate the problems of the future. In particular, as the use of artificially intelligent robotics is leaving our pages of fiction and entering reality, they can no longer be discounted as creative folly.
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Reading and researching for this thesis has served to confirm and broaden personal views regarding the precarious state of our environment. It is all too comfortable to put the evidence of humanity’s acceleration towards a cliff edge of irreversible climate change out of mind. Today, protests are organised globally to challenge political officials and influential corporate bodies to realistically and proportionately address the threat of climate change, to prioritise it over commercial interests and to legislate in favour of protecting the environment.58 Many developing countries still rely on lower cost unsustainable industries to avoid having their economic growth throttled by slow return-on-investment rates sustainable practices often are saddled with. The burden of sound environmental policy is left to be shouldered by developed nations, where the topic is often drowned out by other campaign issues in national elections.59 Technologies which protect the environment must still first face the hurdle of commercial viability before they can have a meaningful impact. It makes sense, therefore, that our current piecemeal efforts will not be enough to hold back the tide of overwhelming climate change in the next few decades, despite the positive image such acts enjoy.60 To posit a future where humanity can remove its vested interests from the responsibility of caring for the last vestiges of wilderness, and hand the reigns to objectively minded machines doesn’t seem so absurd. In shirking the burden of caring for the planet, society can breathe a sigh of relief as machines comb landfills for recyclable materials, renewable energy powers all portable devices and all our meat is grown in clinical conditions – to our minimal inconvenience. In imagining the AI system of FERN and its host architectures, the intention was initially to create a system whose subjects were the forest, its creatures and plants; decidedly non-human in its priorities. However, it soon became clear that the project serves humans just as much as it serves nature; by shouldering the political and commercial burden of environmental responsibility. However, while we wait for these possibilities to be realised, a sixth mass extinction is occurring.61 While as individuals, we despair at our collective lack of progress; each time humanity falters when deciding whether to act costs the planet another species, another degree of global temperature rising, another few inches of coastal erosion and another foot of ocean level.62 57 Chtcheglov, I. (1996). Formulary for a New Urbanism. In: L. Andreotti and X. Costa, ed., Theory of the Dérive and other situationist writings on the city. Barcelona: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, pp.14-17. 58 Taylor, M. and Gayle, D. (2019). Thousands block roads in Extinction Rebellion protests across London. [online] the Guardian 59 Davis, F. and Wurth, A. (2003). Voting Preferences and the Environment in the American Electorate: The Discussion Extended. Society & Natural Resources, 16(8), pp.729-740. 60 Elgot, J. (2019). Gove and Johnson strike a pose in Clean for the Queen campaign. [online] the Guardian 61 Ellis, E. (2018). Anthropocene. A very short introduction. Kettering: Oxford University Press. 62 Dwyer, J. and Haner, J. (2018). Saving Scotland’s Heritage From the Rising Seas. [online] Nytimes.com.
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Fig. (04.01)- Image from FERN’s feed, identifying a fungus within Rothiemurchus. Fig. (04.02) - Image from FERN’s feed, identifying a common toad. (04.02)
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The forest in the thesis presents a wilderness that has been compromised, whether anything we interfere with truly is nature can be called into question. But only (relatively) recently has humanity’s presence begun to have a significant detrimental effect.63 The level to which we interfere can be decided now, and the more action we decide to take now will be reflected in the future. As the gauntlet has been thrown by today’s youth, so must we begin to set foundations for their generation to build upon; were we to take up the mantle today, we could give the movement enough momentum to take hold on the general populace. The future of erased societies due to natural disaster and a ravaged planet is not inevitable yet, and as the point of no return rapidly approaches, we should all do our best to resist it.
63 Sparrow, J. (2019). Thanks to humans the ‘wilderness’ no longer exists – but we can make things on Earth better | Jeff Sparrow. [online] the Guardian
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Figs. (04.03-6)- Various images cutting through the Ark, showing its odd contents and buildup.
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APPENDIX Please see attached for the (real!) existing Forestry Plan Map (2016) for Rothiemurchus, intended to be carried out until 2035, when another review will be conducted and the needs of the estate identified. The full Forestry Plan can supposedly be found on Rothiemurchus’ website, but when I tried to download it the link was broken, and so I requested and was sent the full plan of three documents and over 100 pages; should you wish to peruse it, I will be happy to supply it. There is also a list of the known species in the forest; this is by no means an exhaustive list, just what has been made public and listed; obviously this can vary seasonally. I have also enclosed a scan of the article Erle C. Ellis wrote in the 45th issue of the Harvard Design Magazine, which I found extremely instructive and helpful in determining the direction of the design project, which of course set the foundations for the thesis. Finally, towards the end of the document I have also included some further images of the site, as I found visiting the site instrumental in devising the tone of both the design work and the thesis.
IMAGES AND FIGURES All images that are not my own are credited; otherwise all photographs, rendered images and diagrams were created by the author.
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TREES
PLANTS AND FUNGI
MAMMALS
Sycamore Red Elder Snow Berry Norway Spruce Corsican Pine European Larch Bird Cherry Douglas Fir Grand FIr Noble Fir Lodgepole Pine Scots Pine Juniper Birch Dwarf Birch Aspen Holly Rowan Willow Alder Oak Hazel Beech Sitka Spruce Ash Eared Willow Goat Willow Wych Elm
Polypody ferns Bracken Ferns Alpine Lady Fern Wavy Meadow-grass Snow Fork-moss Scorched Rustwort Monster Pawwort Alpine Saxifrage Highland Saxifrage Highland Cudweed Hare’s-foot Sedge Curved Wood-rush Lady’s-tresses Ostrich-Plume Feather-moss Green Shield moss Scottish Mouse Ear Ling (Heather) Reindeer Lichen Cloudberry Bearberry Trailing Azalea Alpine Lady’s-mantle Sibbaldia Alpine Meadow-rue Alpine Saw-wort Alpine Cinquefoil Alpine Milk-Vetch Twinflower Single flowered Wintergreen Tooth Fungi (Various)
Mountain Hare Pine Marten Red Deer Roe Deer Red Fox Red Squirrel Scottish Wildcat Otter Brown Long-Eared Bat Common Pipistrelle Daubenton’s Bat Soprano Pipistrelle
INVASIVE NON-NATIVE SPECIES Pytophthora austrocedrae fungus Dothistroma (red band) needle blight Rosebay Willow Herb Snow-Berry Spyria
BIRDS Capercaillie Crested Tit Scottish Crossbill Wood Hedgehog Grouse Goosander Redwing Horned Grebe Siskin Long-eared Owl Temminks Stint Golden Eagle Osprey Red-Breasted Merganser Wood Sandpiper Ptarmigan INSECTS Pine Hoverfly Narrow Headed Ant FISH Atlantic Salmon Salmonids (Various)
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