Saved events

Press room

Method's Food Assembly at AI: More than Human

Method's Personal Food Computer at AI: More than Human

As part of the AI: More than Human exhibition, Method, the strategic design arm of Globallogic will host a three day, pop-up Food Assembly at the Barbican from 11-13 July to pose the question: is the future of food digital – and what will that taste like?

Method will take over the Life Rewired Hub, where it will be presenting solutions for feeding the world in an increasingly unstable social, environmental and economic future.

Visitors will be able to vote for the most appealing scenario from three radical forecasts for the future of food, which Method bring to life using speculative design as a tool for future scenario planning and provocative research.

The pop-up asks questions like: Will plant doctors be helping us grow our own food in urban areas as a result of the disappearance of farmable soil? Will a Fairness Organisation ensure that we all eat exactly the same food? Will we still get to choose what’s on our plate, or will our genetic background automatically decide what is best for us?   

On 11 July, Richard Anscombe, CEO of FramFarmers, Sam Watson-Jones, Co-Founder of Small Robots Company, Ali Morrow, Principal at Astanor Ventures and John Oswald, MD of London Method will join a panel discussion to debate what the future of our food systems should be, how technology should play a part and what it will really take to realise a sustainable and delicious food future for everyone.

In 2019, as part of an explorative initiative to investigate how the world’s food futures will be influenced by technology, Method created an early experiment in digital agriculture called the Personal Food Computer, displayed in the AI: More than Human exhibition. Drawing on MIT’s Open Agriculture Initiative, it is an AI-powered personal farm made from upcycled materials, designed to optimise the development of crops in a tabletop-sized growing chamber. It gathers crop-growing data from a network of farms and shares it with the wider public – enabling people to grow and test the suitability of crops for various requirements using open source digital ‘recipes.’ The aim is to ultimately ensure food security in the face of climate change.

The Personal Food Computer was built as a provocation to initiate conversations around the impact and opportunities controlled environments and digitally enabled agriculture could bring.

AI: More than Human (16 May-26 August)  is an unprecedented survey of the creative and scientific developments in artificial intelligence, exploring the evolution of the relationship between humans and technology. Taking place all over the Centre, it presents immersive art installations, interactive exhibits and digital projects to examine the subject from multiple, global perspectives.

Key Information

Food Assembly: 11—13 Jul 2019, Life Rewired Hub

Connected Food: 11 Jul 2019, Fountain Room, 19:45

AI: More than Human : 16 May–26 Aug 2019, Barbican Centre

Documents
Press release - Method at the Barbican Centre's AI: More than Human DOCX 56.29 kb
Contacts

Anna Dabrowski, Senior Communications Manager:: 020 7638 4141 ext: 8178, M: 07742 400902, [email protected]

Daphne Leprince-Ringuet, Communications Assistant: : 0207 638 4141 ext:5171, [email protected]

Events

Food Assembly

11–13 Jul 2019, Life Rewired Hub

Get a flavour of what tomorrow might taste like.

As climate change warms the planet, insect populations collapse and soil nutrients become more and more depleted, the strain on global agriculture is likely to make food a central topic for change.

Using objects, videos and storytelling, product and strategy consultancy Method imagine a not-so-distant future in which three radical solutions for feeding the world have been proposed. 

 

Connected Food
Thu 11 Jul 2019, Fountain Room, 19:45

Join Method design studio for their open discussion on the future of digitised food network.

Bringing together experts and enthusiasts across industries and fields, the discussion asks how the future of our food web might look and taste. 

Programmed to coincide with our major summer exhibition AI: More than Human, we ask how might we reimagine the systems by which we grow, harvest and distribute food, who will drive its redefinition, and what role will food, people and the planet play in this future?

 

AI: More than Human
16 May—26 Aug 2019, Across the Centre

AI: More than Human invites you to explore our relationship with artificial intelligence.

This major centre-wide ‘festival-style’ exhibition explores creative and scientific developments in AI, demonstrating its potential to revolutionise our lives. Bringing together artists, scientists and researchers, this interactive exhibition offers an unprecedented survey of AI with which you are invited to engage head-on.