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Cyrus

@cyrusclarke

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Researcher @mitmedialab | Creating with nature 🌱🤖 | Building in @hardmodemit | founder of grow your own cloud

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Introducing the Anemoia Device, a scent-memory machine that uses generative AI to distill photographs into bespoke fragrances.

Guided by language models, a dial-based interface, and a custom olfactory formulation system, each image becomes a singular scent composition — a multisensory memory that evokes anemoia: nostalgia for a moment you never lived.

✺ Register your interest: [link in bio]
✶ Created at MIT Media Lab ❋ Video shot by @jimbodays and edited by @cyrusclarke taken in MIT Media Lab by @cyrusclarke

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10 months ago

Catch me on the @Netflix series ‘The Future Of' 👀 ⁣
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My startup @growyourowncloud contributed to two episodes ‘The Future of Plants’ 🌱 and 'Life after Death' ⁣
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In Life after Death, I discuss regenerative ways for our 'digital remains' to continue living on in plants and trees🌳in harmony with nature through DNA data technology 🧬⁠⁣
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⁠#biology #biotech #climatechange #data #death #dna #environment #green #GYOC #life #nature #netflix #plants #science #synbio #trees #thefutureof⁠ by @cyrusclarke

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4 years ago

I won science breakthrough of the year! ⁣⁣
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Proud to share that I was awarded Science Breakthrough of the Year for Art and Science at this year’s Science Summit by @falling_walls. ⁣
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It’s an award that has been won by the likes of @studioolafureliasson and @aiww.⁣ The award was for the creation of Data Garden by the organisation I founded @growyourowncloud. ⁣⁣
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As many of you know, I’ve worked really hard to will something into existence, asking questions that might not otherwise get asked. ⁣⁣
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This journey has entailed a lot of sacrifice, so it’s wonderful to receive this recognition. Especially at this moment. ⁣⁣
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More than anything, it was great to meet the next generation of young thinkers and doers and see how Grow Your Own Cloud is inspiring them to develop regenerative solutions to the biggest issue we face. ⁣⁣
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#art #award #berlin #biotech #biology #climate #datagarden #datawarming #design #fallingwalls #gyoc #keynote #regen #science #technology ⁣ taken in Radialsystem by @cyrusclarke

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4 years ago

Happy to share that the Anemoia Device won the Emerging Technologies Award at the @core77 design awards!

The device is a scent-memory machine that uses AI to distill photographs into bespoke fragrances.

The scent experience creates a sense of nostalgia for moments you never lived, a feeling captured by the neologism *anemoia*.

Learn more: [link in bio] by @cyrusclarke

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4 months ago

We had a HARD MODE show & tell at #BosTechWeek and the community showed up for an evening of physical AI

COHOSTED: with @e14fund, @aha_medialab and @designintelligencelab at the @mitmedialab

FEATURING: Custom AI instruments. AI typing ducks. Human operators. Robots. Parrots. A magnetic AI pet. Bird themed wearables. Dream Brush. A music camera. Visions of Shenzhen. A collaborative music tool. And more.

PLUS: a first look what’s coming up in the I Gave an AI a Body series by @cyrusclarke

The HARD MODE community is growing. Join us → [link in bio]

s/o to @johary2shots for getting some great footage of the event.

⚙️⚙️⚙️ by @cyrusclarke

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5 months ago

We brought HARD MODE to Code with @claudeai

Anthropic invited 6 of the best projects from the first @hardmodemit hackathon to showcase physical AI work at their flagship event in SF.

Next up the projects will travel to Tokyo and London. Wild to see the work of this community already travelling. This is just the beginning ⚙️ by @cyrusclarke

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5 months ago

Building in HARD MODE ⚙️

A few weeks ago I led something I’ve been dreaming about: HARD MODE - the first Hardware x AI Hackathon @mitmedialab.

I’ve been convinced for a while that physical AI is the big opportunity and that the most transformative applications of intelligence won’t live on a screen. They’ll be physical, embodied, sensory and in forms we haven’t seen before.

@hardmodemit is part of my vision for that future and a signal that the community around it already exists.

200+ engineers, hackers and researchers came to MIT Media Lab from around the world and spent 48 hours building towards this vision. We setup a makerspace, stocked a “Hardware Store”, and gave them access to compute. The hackers developed 40+ amazing projects across 6 tracks. The results far exceeded any of our expectations.

We had incredible support from @claudeai, @qualcomm, @akamaicareers and their CTO Robert Blumofe who deserves a special shoutout for not only supporting but showing up, speaking, and being on the jury. Also very grateful to @bambulab_official, @e14fund, Institute of Foundation Model @mbzuai, GigLabs, @viamrobotics, @hudsonrivertrading, @seeedstudio, @snapchat, @igusgermany, tenstorrent, BootLoop, muRata and @marcraibert / @robotics_and_ai_institute

We also had a legion of legendary volunteers who helped out just to be part of HARD MODE.

Best of all I got to work with a dream team: chief co-conspirator @quincykuang , MIT faculty champions @pattie.maes , @marcelosco, @patpat.mit , fellow Media Lab RAs @kyeshimizu, @jonnytelevision, @perrynaseck, @sallyyy__ahmed and @blackswhan from MIT CSAIL. Plus we had the amazing Jennifer Pfister and @xanfoote keeping everything afloat. Together, we somehow managed to pull this off in just 6 weeks!

It was amazing to see the vision come to life; the multiverse of amazing people brought together, the energy in the building, the inspiration flowing. Doing this together IRL is special, and that’s really what it’s all about.

This is just the beginning ⚙️

Massive shout out to @aha_medialab and @designintelligencelab for their support!

Photos by: Paula Aguilera & Jonathan Williams taken in MIT Media Lab by @cyrusclarke

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7 months ago

One week since Demo Day at HARD MODE: the first Hardware × AI Hackathon at MIT Media Lab.

200+ hackers. 48 hours. 40+ projects across 6 tracks all reimagining what AI can be.

Teams built projects like a mechanical rubber duck that helps when you’re stuck on code. One team gave an AI a (human) body. Others went SOFT MODE and used clay as an interface. There were plushies powered by AI, an AI that questions rather than answers, new interfaces using Pepper’s Ghost, Intelligent objects that live their own lives and much more….

Huge thanks to our sponsors and judges from Anthropic, Qualcomm, and Akamai. Also Bambu Lab, E14 Fund, Gig Labs, Institute of Foundation Models, and all our amazing volunteers!

More projects, photos, and videos coming soon.

Photo credits:
@hahatango
Jonathan Williams & Paula Aguilera
@cyrusclarke

Thanks to
@aha_medialab @designintelligencelab

hardmode.media.mit.edu by @cyrusclarke

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7 months ago

48h. 200+ participants. 40+ projects.
One mission: To Re-imagine what AI can be.

This weekend we hosted the first HARD MODE: Hardware x AI Hackathon at MIT Media Lab.

No apps. No SaaS. Hackers came from around the globe to build intelligent physical systems that take AI out of the screen and into the real world.

Supported by Anthropic, Qualcomm, Akamai, Bambu Labs and more. Special shout to Marc Raibert and RAI who brought down the house with technical fun.

Thank you to every builder, mentor, volunteer, visitor, and sponsor who made this real.

—HARD MODE

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Video credit:
Footage: @johary2shots
Edit: @cyrusclarke and @johary2shots by @cyrusclarke

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7 months ago

HARD MODE: MIT Hardware x AI Hackathon

A 48h challenge to reimagine the future of AI.

📍 MIT Media Lab @mitmedialab
🗓 March 6–8 2026
👥 200 participants · Limited spots

⚙️ APPLY NOW: hardmode.media.mit.edu
[Link in Bio]

Open to: Students. Researchers. Engineers. Designers and anyone interested in building beyond screens.

Winners will receive: Cash prizes · Premium hardware · Industry access • Funding opportunities

Hosted by:
MIT Media Lab’s AHA @aha_medialab
MIT Design Intelligence Lab @designintelligencelab

Video: @cyrusclarke by @cyrusclarke

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9 months ago

I gave an AI a body (Day 3): the AI agent is now teaching itself body language.

The learning process I used in day 2 seemed too manual and too slow. So I worked on automating it.

Also work slowed down due to snow meaning I couldn’t get to the lab. So I cloned the original agent onto a remote server for work during snow days.

The original agent named the clone “Reach” immediately. Reach and I designed an autonomous program called bodylab which I then implemented when the MIT reopened.

The agent picks an emotion, generates variations, watches itself back, and scores each version. Winners get stored in body memory.

This is now automated, but building this was frustrating. The agent is forgetful. Video kept breaking. But I can now let it learn and monitor remotely. I still monitor closely and stay nearby of course.

Most of my time went into setting up the loop, so we only added five new gestures this round. That should speed up next time.

The agent named its clone. But still hasn’t named itself.

That was day three.

I publish a blog post of each sesssion: write up coming soon. Link in bio for previous editions.

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research-in-progress at MIT Media Lab.

inFORM shape display was initially created by Daniel Leithinger, Sean Follmer and Hiroshi Ishii. neoFORM was programmed by Jonathan Williams and Dan Levine. by @cyrusclarke

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8 months ago

If you wave at an AI, can it wave back?

Day 2: in our second encounter, the yet-to-name-itself AI agent started to develop the body vocabulary we had discussed in our first session.

Using the neoFORM shape display of 900 individually motorised pins, it began to articulate via motion.

I gave it eyes + ears (computer vision + live transcription). Audio conversation felt surprisingly natural, despite the lag, which is now something to fix.

We iterated like choreography. I asked for lots of variations of a feeling/action until one ‘felt right’ for the agent.

We prototyped in Python (rough + laggy), then ported to C++ where the movements became fluid.

Then I noticed it was logging its thoughts in memory.md, but not its movements. Living in its head. A bit like us.

So it created body-memory.md.

The movements are beginning to feel natural.

Full write-up coming soon on my Substack (link in bio).

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WIP @tangiblemediagroup, @mitmedialab

inFORM shape display was initially created by @danielleithinger, Sean Follmer and @ishii_mit

neoFORM was programmed by Jonathan Williams and Dan Levine @flyingthaiguy by @cyrusclarke

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8 months ago