Project by Alexandra Zhao
Beyond the traditional ecosystem as interactions between living beings, the Surplus Biome captures the possibilities of a DNA-based data-centric future. With the growth of artificial intelligence and large language models, data centers and data storage have reached a critical moment that requires exploring possibilities outside of the traditional infrastructural expertise. By turning inward and looking at data centers as unique ecologies of information, data centers can be hacked and understood as biological organisms that must utilize their own internal heat, water, waste, and photosynthetic properties for self-sustaining human and more-than-human futures.