Merel Mierop

NAITURE is a project in which experimentation, documentation, prediction, comparison, impermanence, and reproduction come together at the intersection of humans, nature, and AI.

The project unfolds in two parts. The first part explores the boundaries of AI in predicting natural processes. The soil is given a series of fabric letters as material input, which are buried in the ground. AI, on the other hand, receives a textual prompt accompanied by a photograph of the original letter. The prompt does not direct the system towards a specific outcome; it merely provides information about the material, the environment, and the conditions. AI must determine for itself how these factors might influence the object. After a period of time, the fabric letter is excavated and compared with the prediction generated by AI. The letters remained in the ground for periods ranging from several months to a year, with some disappearing entirely and being absorbed by nature.

The second part is no longer about comparison, but about demonstrating how AI can be used as a design tool. Humans or nature should remain the foundation of the creative process. The specifically chosen capital letter R combines a curve, a diagonal, a horizontal, and a vertical stem. From these forms, AI generates an entire Latin alphabet.

Where do the boundaries of AI lie when it comes to predicting natural processes through image generation? AI can reproduce, but it cannot live as nature does—within the impermanence of emergence, transformation, and decay. The project has no definitive ending: AI continues to evolve.