We describe the design, implementation and on going evaluation processes of “NukaBot”, a system built to realize Human to Microbe Interaction, aimed to assist production of fermented food. Our system senses, records and analyzes in real time the fermentation process inside a “ nukadoko ”, a traditional method to produce vegetable pickles in Japan that involves a highly complex network of microbes. The flora of a nukadoko mainly consists of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and gram-negative bacteria. The novelty of our system lies in providing an intuitive user interface that lets its user chat with a virtual persona attributed to the nukadoko. The NukaBot thus enables non-specialists to discern the complex dynamics of the microbial communities within a nukadoko in daily situations.

While technology has brought immeasurable benefits to humankind, recent advances in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems have also led to new ethical, legal, and social issues. We now face the problem of creating a cooperative society in which autonomous systems and people can coexist. The concept of artificial life provides unique perspectives, tools, and philosophies for furthering our understanding of complex living, lifelike, or hybrid systems. However, artificial life is still difficult to comprehend for those outside the academic community. We thus created a public co-creation community called ALIFE Lab, which aims to increase awareness of artificial life in collaboration with artificial life researchers and talents from creative fields such as design, art, and fashion. As one of the community activities, we organized a workshop-based program in which participants learned about Artificial Life and used it as a tool to conceive autonomous systems with concrete vocabulary and theory. This paper reports the methodology and outcomes of the workshop.