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Hauptverfasser: Breed, Zoë, Karana, Elvin, Bozzon, Alessandro, Song, Katherine W.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15804
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author Breed, Zoë
Karana, Elvin
Bozzon, Alessandro
Song, Katherine W.
author_facet Breed, Zoë
Karana, Elvin
Bozzon, Alessandro
Song, Katherine W.
contents Bio-digital systems that merge microbial life with technology promise new modes of computation, combining biological adaptability with digital precision. Yet realizing this potential symbiotically -- where biological and digital agents co-adapt and co-process -- remains elusive, largely due to the absence of a shared vocabulary bridging biology and computing. Consequently, microbes are often constrained to uni-directional roles, functioning as sensors or actuators rather than as active, computational partners in bio-digital systems. In response, we propose a taxonomy and pathways that articulate and expand the roles of biological and digital entities for synergetic bio-digital computation. Using this taxonomy, we analysed 70 systems across HCI, design, and engineering, identifying how biological mechanisms can be mapped onto computational abstractions. We argue that such mappings enable computationally actionable directions that foster richer and reciprocal relationships in bio-digital systems, supporting regenerative ecologies across time and scale while inspiring new paradigms for computation in HCI.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_15804
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Entangled Life and Code: A Computational Design Taxonomy for Synergistic Bio-Digital Systems
Breed, Zoë
Karana, Elvin
Bozzon, Alessandro
Song, Katherine W.
Human-Computer Interaction
Bio-digital systems that merge microbial life with technology promise new modes of computation, combining biological adaptability with digital precision. Yet realizing this potential symbiotically -- where biological and digital agents co-adapt and co-process -- remains elusive, largely due to the absence of a shared vocabulary bridging biology and computing. Consequently, microbes are often constrained to uni-directional roles, functioning as sensors or actuators rather than as active, computational partners in bio-digital systems. In response, we propose a taxonomy and pathways that articulate and expand the roles of biological and digital entities for synergetic bio-digital computation. Using this taxonomy, we analysed 70 systems across HCI, design, and engineering, identifying how biological mechanisms can be mapped onto computational abstractions. We argue that such mappings enable computationally actionable directions that foster richer and reciprocal relationships in bio-digital systems, supporting regenerative ecologies across time and scale while inspiring new paradigms for computation in HCI.
title Entangled Life and Code: A Computational Design Taxonomy for Synergistic Bio-Digital Systems
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15804