← A. Inventions, No. 59
Snežana Bogomolov (1926–1989)
Artificial Heart
1961
Ordzhonikidze State University, Vladikavkaz, Russia. Stainless steel, silicone, plastic, copper. 3⅛ × 3¼ × 1⅜". Collection of the author.
In preparation for today’s collection of artificial (intelligence) hearts, I spent some time reading up on the subject, which is woolier than any fiction I could possibly concoct.
Highlights include a calf named Alfred Lord Tennyson; devices called Phoenix-7 and polvad; the DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device, which looks like plumbing, which I suppose, ultimately, it is; a citation from the Journal of Artificial Organs, which of course exists; and finally, the unwittingly poetic disclaimer that the heart ‘embodies subtleties that defy straightforward emulation with synthetic materials,’ a good theme for AI itself, but not in the direction anyone thinks.
Happy Valentine’s Day, to all who celebrate. The machines shall return later, as indeed has always been foretold.
Published February 14, 2023. Copyright © 2023 Jonathan Hoefler.
About
The objects in the Apocryphal Inventions series are technical chimeras, intentional misdirections coaxed from the generative AI platform Midjourney. Instead of iterating on the system’s early drafts to create ever more accurate renderings of real-world objects, creator Jonathan Hoefler subverted the system to refine and intensify its most intriguing misunderstandings, pushing the software to create beguiling, aestheticized nonsense. Some images have been retouched to make them more plausible; others have been left intact, appearing exactly as generated by the software. The accompanying descriptions, written by the author, offer fictitious backstories rooted in historical fact, which suggest how each of these inventions might have come to be.
These images represent some of AI’s most intriguing answers to confounding questions, an inversion of the more pressing debate in which it is humanity that must confront the difficult and existential questions posed by artificial intelligence.
Previously:
No. 58. Miscellaneous Adapters
Next:
No. 60. Heart Machines
