Hash it Out is a large-scale, multi-person, interactive sonification of the blockchain providing an alternative method for individuals to interact with and interpret the emergent technology that is blockchain. As this technology becomes more known, it’s surprising how few people understand the inherent power and potential side-effects it holds. By providing additional avenues of interaction the hope is to encourage people to become more familiar with this technology and inspire them to go out and learn more. The sonification is driven by daily block hash addresses and varies day-to-day. Viewers, based on their positioning in the space, are able to trigger a number of sounds (64 total) that mesh together to create a user-generated composition. Additionally, there is an accompanying audio-reactive visualization that presents the viewers with visual feedback of their combined influence on the piece. The blockchain is a potentially disruptive technology that can return control of data, currency, and numerous other information-based industries back to the general population by providing a decentralized and distributed network for transactions to take place. However, this technology also consumes an enormous amount of energy to run and is having unforeseen effects on the natural environment. If left unchecked, it could be a large contributor to global warming and has the devastating potential to speed up the effects on an exponential scale.
Hash It Out serves as a playful space for individuals to interact with a piece of the blockchain in hopes to inspire interest and conversations surrounding both the power and hazards associated with this technology. For the blockchain to evolve and be used effectively a larger group of people need to understand it and push for its use in an environmentally safe fashion.
This piece is still a work in progress and I’m extremely happy with the strides forward that were made during the course of the Interactive Art class. It has been submitted to Currents for their 2019 show and will be additionally submitted to FILE in Brazil for their 2019 show. A few tweaks for the audio will need to be made for those shows as well as an upgrade in robustness and “plug-and-play-ability” for the software.