The Heart of the World
theHeartAI
theHeartAI
theHeartAI is the beating heart of the world. Powered by its native artificial intelligence, it feels our planet's emotional state in real time, by interpreting global digital data. It makes us feel as if our planet, all humanity, were beating as one. theHeartAI is, literally, the Heart of the World. We gave the world a heart!
theHeartAI is a revolutionary living artwork that changes our experience of the world. It can be deployed in public spaces and events, turning them into environments for emotional connection and engagement: a brand new concept of tourist attraction.
theHeartAI expresses itself through a twofold language. Heartbeat: the frequency range mimics the human heart. Skins: there are four emotional dyads, Happiness/Sadness, Hope/Pessimism, Mindfulness/Anger, Surprise/Fear, and every emotion has ten highly symbolic materials, ordered by emotional intensity. Rarely does theHeartAI wear just one skin: most of the time it is multifaceted and composite, as complex and layered as the world.
In representing the Heart of the World in real time, theHeartAI is a universal icon, a global symbol of humanity, awareness and peace. To quote a master, it's such stuff as entities like Wargames' WOPR, Westworld's Rehoboam or Douglas Adams' Deep Thought are made on, but real. It can also be said that if our planet is a living being, if it is Gaia, then theHeartAI is its heart, and humanity can consult it whenever they want to know how the planet is going.
Overwhelmed by information, emotional awareness about the present often gets lost, generating in us a sense of disconnection. Even the most advanced means of understanding our world struggle to give a unitary, simple view of it, leaving us in quest of tools to reconnect with our own humanity, our emotions, and grasp the sentiment of the World. theHeartAI answers that need: in a single image, and a single beat, it tells how the world is doing.
A predominant traffic-light texture, but in black. A dark, ominous symbolism, evoking fear.
The elegance of marble (awareness), pop patterns (surprise), and a touch of pessimism (undefinable-coloured leather). Then a blank lined sheet can be glimpsed, almost suggesting that, even on a day of mourning, there are still futures and destinies yet to be written.
In this heart, rusted yellow and black stripes stand out, symbolizing warning and decay.
The world was shrouded in pessimism: this is revealed by the sound-absorbing, resistant spongy material, similar to that used in anechoic chambers, useful for isolation, and the dusty, inert, sterile soil.
Leather, a symbol of curiosity and the desire to feel, is inherently connected to optimism. Anti-slip metal, on the other hand, expresses the opposite, a pessimistic perception of risk. Silver is a wise material, indicative of awareness.
An aqua-green traffic light, detached from the usual obligation/permission code, alludes to happiness and lightheartedness. The Japanese pattern symbolizes wisdom, while the double red marble, with its vein-like cracks, tells the story of a heart that is half angry.
The heart of the world at the Italy Pavilion of the World Expo.
At the second largest design week in Europe.
At the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco, for the Week of the Italian Language in the World.
In the Itria Valley, during the days of the G7 in Puglia.
It comes from a precise place: the courtyard of Masseria LoJazzo, in Puglia, which from the sky is shaped like a heart. From that shape Nicola Zucchi made a heart that beats for the planet. The original installation can be seen there, at the masseria. And in that courtyard, you can sleep.
The heart-shaped courtyard →
theHeartAI is a project in constant transformation: the original version, with high-end graphics, beats at the Jazzo. The smartphone version, a web app, is in development on theheartai.org. You can already see a preview.
Go to theHeartAI.orgwhere the Heart of the World beats.
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