Artificial Intelligence ‘Brain’ Designed to Enable Composer to Continue Creating Music Three Years Posthumously

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Before his passing in 2021, Alvin Lucier contributed blood samples for “Revivification,” a unique art installation that translates neural signals into sound.

Lillian Ali – Staff Contributor

April 2025

Within the walls of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, a remarkable sound installation comes to life. A series of mallets intermittently strike 20 brass plates affixed to the gallery walls, creating resonant sounds that fill the air. This auditory experience is guided by an innovative interplay of human involvement and machine intervention, featuring two artificial cerebral organoids that produce electrical signals, prompting the mallets to strike.

These organoids, created from the cells of Alvin Lucier, a renowned American composer who passed away in 2021, represent a significant breakthrough in bioart and neuroscience. The initiative, entitled “Revivification,” was launched in 2018, aiming to foster artistic creation beyond Lucier’s lifetime.

“We effectively developed a brain in a dish that can engage with the outside world,” explains Nathan Thompson, one of the installation’s creators, in an interview with NPR’s Chloe Veltman. The installation was crafted by Thompson, alongside artists Guy Ben-Ary and Matt Gingold, as well as neuroscientist Stuart Hodgetts from the University of Western Australia. Lucier’s blood was transformed into stem cells to create the organoids that generate the neural impulses influencing the performance of the mallets. This innovative approach allows for the production of “complex, sustained resonances that permeate the gallery space,” as articulated in a statement from the gallery.

In his life, Lucier was known for his experimental approach to sound, often exploring the physics behind acoustic phenomena. His works frequently stemmed from curiosity about auditory outcomes derived from specific stimuli, including the iconic composition “I Am Sitting in a Room” (1969), where he re-recorded his spoken words until they became unintelligible, demonstrating the transformative power of sound.

The concept of “Revivification” transcends mere preservation of Lucier’s musical legacy; its goal is to explore the possibilities of creative continuity by establishing a living artistic entity that embodies Lucier’s essence. “We want to fundamentally reimagine artistic immortality,” the artists emphasized in discussions with Forbes.

This endeavor raises profound questions about the intersections of art, consciousness, and creativity. As cognitive neuroscientist Indre Viskontas articulates in her comments to NPR, while creativity usually implies a conscious intention, the neuronal cells in this setup lack such awareness. This generates a dialogue about the essence of artistic creation and its relationship to human consciousness. Thompson elaborates, noting that the organoids possess a form of life, albeit different from human life.

The team is keen to investigate whether the cells exhibit adaptive changes in response to their environment, hypothesizing that sounds created by gallery visitors could affect the organoids’ behavior. “We’re eager to discover if the organoid learns or evolves over time,” Ben-Ary states in conversations with the Guardian.

“Our aim is to engage in broader discussions,” Thompson remarked, underscoring that the project invites inquiries into whether creativity can exist independently of human form and the ethical implications of such practices.

“Revivification” will be featured at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth until August 3, 2025.

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