Life and Death of an Algorithm

A series of works constructed from thousands of dice, exploring the emergence of complexity and self-organisation. The dice are laid out in a pattern emulating a simple computer algorithm. Governed by its own rules, the algorithm emulates the evolution of life: coming into existence, evolving, and eventually culminating in death. The algorithm devised for this work goes back to John von Neumann, the mathematician who pioneered a type of electronic architecture that was foundational for the creation of modern digital computers. While working on the infamous Manhattan Project at Los Alamos during the Second World War, he started a parallel line of inquiry in search of a mathematical model for biological and physical systems capable of self-replication and computation: mathematical life forms. Life and Death of an Algorithm depicts the point where self-governance falters and results in termination. 

’Life and Death of an Algorithm’ in ’Pink Noise’ by Nadim Samman & Dehlia Hannah, in ‘Pink Noise’, pp.5, published by Distanz, 2025