The Department of Species Services (DSS) - Pollination Unit

An interactive installation and performance exploring how human labor might be reassigned by artificial intelligence to sustain ecological systems through a commons-based model of care. Ecological systems are entering a state of instability. Pollinators are declining. Biodiversity is under threat. Processes that sustain life are no longer guaranteed. At the same time, artificial intelligence is reshaping the conditions of work, optimizing for efficiency while raising new questions: What roles remain for humans? Who, or what, defines their value? The Department of Species Services (DSS) is a speculative system that responds to these conditions. Envisioned as an AI-managed ecological commons trust, DSS monitors environmental disruptions and reallocates labor across humans, machines, and other species, positioning ecological care as a shared, operational responsibility. This installation focuses on one such intervention: pollination. As bee populations decline, humans are temporarily coordinated to support plant reproduction. · @shihan.design Director & Design Futurist · @mingyong_art Creative Technologist & New Media Artist, UC San Diego · @hanzhangpqqo Interactive Engineer & Computer Musician, UC San Diego · @clclem.liu Visual Artist · Jiaye Leng AI Engineer & Researcher, CityU of Hong Kong · @abigail.moves Dancer & Choreographer · Neal Williams Consulting Pollination Ecologist, UC Davis