All Possible Futures is a collection by Frederik De Wilde comprising two video works made with live data, lasers and custom-made software. The works explore the interactions and energy exchanges that take place at subatomic scales.
The world is not a Turing machine, a perfect logical computation machine. In the quantum (subatomic) realm the Aristotelian logic of true and false, yes and no becomes fuzzy. One taps into an ocean of potentialities and possibilities, analogous to Alice and Wonderland. When looking at or listening to quantum fluctuations, we dive even deeper into the presumably lowest energy state – or substrate – of the universe.
To make the All Possible Futures collection, De Wilde tapped into a random number live data stream derived from a tabletop laser experiment with entangled photons, and channeled this data across the internet into a custom-made software application. Hence, the video is a product of direct quantum data measurements, their corresponding energy values, and ultimately true random generated numbers.
By exploring quantum interactions, the artist also examines the potential indicated by current developments in quantum applications. A fully operational quantum computer could allow us to discover and create new molecules, novel drugs and materials, but on the other hand could imperil our personal privacy, destroy electronic commerce and demolish the concept of national security. In other words, a quantum computer would jeopardise the stability of the world. Luckily scientists are working hard on quantum cryptography which holds the potential for an unprecedented level of privacy and security.
The works in the collection were made with support from W:Blutt aka Frederik Vanhoutte and Dr. Thomas Symul of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology.
