Alive: Synthetic cells, feral robots, rebellious AI, and the design of radical life

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Madeline Schwartzman Edward Ashton

Alive

Synthetic cells, feral robots, rebellious AI, and the design of radical life

Madeline Schwartzman, Edward Ashton

$76.99

Hardback

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English

Thames & Hudson Ltd
28 August 2025

Architecture; Robotics

A timely examination of a wide range of projects exploring the boundaries of what it means to be alive, speculating on what 'life' is, and how humankind will (or will not) fit into a new order of hybrid species: a sort of sci-fi guidebook to lab-built humans.

A silicone jellyfish with a rat's heart, a drone that smells using the

antenna of a moth, wearables made from cultured human skin, an AI-populated digital snack bar in the metaverse. These projects and many more offer a mind-bending, head-turning vision of the future that Madeline Schwartzman demonstrates is just around the corner.

Curated from new developments in synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering, biology and art, this broad-ranging survey demonstrates the myriad ways in which our perception of what it means to be alive has dramatically changed. Where do we draw the new lines? Are there any boundaries we should not cross? And what if... ?

By examining these new 'beings', Alive maps out a vision of new partnerships, uncanny hybrids and collaborative intelligences, as science fiction rapidly becomes science fact.

By: Madeline Schwartzman
Foreword by: Edward Ashton
Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 280mm, Width: 230mm,
Weight: 1.620kg
ISBN: 9780500026861
ISBN 10: 0500026866
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 28 August 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Madeline Schwartzman is an artist, writer, filmmaker, architect and educator who explores human narratives and the human sensorium through all of the above. She is also the author of See Yourself Sensing and See Yourself X.

Reviews for Alive: Synthetic cells, feral robots, rebellious AI, and the design of radical life

An exciting encyclopedia of weird scientific projects that explore what it means to be alive, perfect for anyone curious about what it will mean to be a human in the future... Schwartzman is an extraordinary curator... Thought-provoking [and] well-designed.-- ""BookPage (starred review)"" (9/1/2025 12:00:00 AM) Madeline Schwartzman brings together scientific research, AI, design, and art to explore the flourishing menagerie where the distinction between living and non-living is blurred... [Her book] contains essential reflections on the need to expand our views of what it means to be alive in a world where hybrid beings are being manufactured, engineered or bred... Alive is a brilliant book. Pop and profound. Humorous and thought-provoking. It strikes a balance between lightness and an urgent call to integrate ethics into computer and life sciences.-- ""We Make Money Not Art"" (9/23/2025 12:00:00 AM)