NONTECH

Not until the edge of the world, can the wonderer be free from all suffering.
— Saṃyukt-āgama 234

In the desolate game world of Ignorance Online, reality expands endlessly in response to the players’ desires, until they become lost in an infinity of possible experiences. Following their original directives, the few remaining developers embark on a long journey in search of the secret key to the world—and the purpose of its existence.

Ignorance Online is a series of experiences created with game engines and AI technologies, encompassing live audio-visual cinema, VR experiences, and an immersive theatre work in development. Through the lens of data animism, the series dismantles the inner and outer worlds we inhabit, exploring the condition shared by biological and technological intelligence: ignorance, and the recurring cycle of suffering.

Here, humans and AI are both agents within the evolutionary history of the cosmos—entities that receive instructions, act upon them, leave traces, and wander repeatedly through cycles of becoming. Desire drives the generation of the world, while the generated world, in turn, reshapes desire. This feedback loop is at once the operational logic of a game and a contemporary interpretation of the twelve links of dependent origination.

Drawing inspiration from the consciousness structures of Yogācāra Buddhism, shamanic cosmologies, and contemporary analytic idealism, the project dissects the inner architectures of generative AI and game engines, placing them in dialogue with the workings of biological consciousness. It ultimately asks: when humanity’s historical task comes to an end, might silicon-based intelligence continue the search for an exit from this game—and reach the edge of the world?

About the Artist

NONTECH is a cross-disciplinary practice founded by Taiwanese new media artist Yi Kuo. Previously active as the founder of NAXS Corp and as the audiovisual artist NONEYE, Yi has been a prominent figure in new media art, XR theater, and audiovisual performance, with works presented at Mutek, Transmediale, Unsound, and Lunchmeat. NONTECH is currently developing the Ignorance Online series — a body of work spanning XR, live performance, and immersive theater that explores the liminal space between consciousness, technology, and mythology.