Experiments

Four drum voices with no master clock. Each listens to the others and nudges its own timing towards them; knock one off the beat and hear the band find its groove again.

A five-page talk: how much autonomy does a productivity tool need? Braitenberg's Vehicle 2, an Allium rule, and a live sample week with five vehicles let loose on it. (Shown at the Playgroup, 18 Sep; posted 5 Oct.)

Steer the offbeat with a ship's wheel, from a relaxed reggae skank to driving techno hi-hats. Let go and it drifts back to a tidy, quantised middle.

Four of Braitenberg's vehicles, two sensors wired to two wheels, on a harness that checkpoints, survives a simulated crash and never plays the same ping twice. (Made 24 Sep; posted 3 Oct.)

How much autonomy should an AI agent have? Braitenberg's fourteen vehicles lined up against productivity tools, up to today's agents: what each has to be given, and who holds the initiative. (Made at Playgroup, 18 Sep; posted 1 Oct.)

Braitenberg's fourteen vehicles as a history of personal productivity — one drawn vehicle per rung, from the Filofax (no vehicle at all) to engagement-optimised apps and persistent agents, with what each one senses, does, and has to be granted.

A weekly planner and the automations that could work it, each built as a Braitenberg vehicle — a sensor, a wire, a motor — in a small language you can edit. Step them over a sample week, read the bill for what each one needs, and let selection loose on the wiring.

A screen that pixelates whoever is behind it, turning a person into an avatar. Tune the optics and watch pixels form.