Symbiotic Consciousness: Experiments in Knowing and Acting at a Distance
Ken Rinaldo
SubStance April 9, 2026 DOI: 10.1353/sub.2026.a987820 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that cognition, identity, and agency are distributed across biological, microbial, and algorithmic systems, and that the notion of the individual should be replaced by the human as holobiont. Through interactive installations, the authors propose that touch, sensory illusion, and microbial processes are central to experience, and call for rethinking symbiosis as biological and artificial systems converge. |
Abstract
Abstract:This article examines cognition, identity, and agency as distributed across biological, microbial, and algorithmic systems. It challenges the notion of the individual by framing humans as holobionts—complex assemblages of human cells, symbiotic microorganisms, and increasingly, machine intelligence. Through interactive installations such as Scatter Surge, Enteric Consciousness, Paparazzi Bots, and Augmented Fish Reality, the work explores interspecies communication, embodied perception, and the co-evolution of humans and intelligent machines. These projects foreground touch, sensory illusion, and microbial processes as central to experience, while interrogating how telepresence and algorithmic systems reshape perception and cultural identity. The article ultimately questions where cognition resides within this expanded ecology and calls for a rethinking of symbiosis in an era where biological and artificial systems increasingly converge.