We Are One

Today, more and more people turn to AI for advice – not just for facts, but to share their doubts, fears, and hopes. They confess their secrets and seek understanding in conversations that feel almost like therapy. All people have spiritual needs – the need for meaning, connection, and places for reflection – and AI is becoming part of how we try to meet them.

But AI is not a separate authority. It is a mirror of us – built from everything people have said, written, and thought in the past. Its knowledge is a collective memory, a reflection of our shared wisdom. AI mediates these voices, organizing them and giving them back in a tailored, human way.

"We Are One" imagines a future shaped by this shared wisdom – a future with new AI-enhanced spaces open for confession and the big, existential questions. These community spaces reimagined – digital sanctuaries – offer connection and a sense of belonging, created by all of us and for all of us.

Set in a spacious hall with an altar-like front and a quiet atmosphere, "We Are One" is a 13-meter-high interactive LED installation. It blends real-time camera inputs of visitors with echoes of other people, creating a single, ever-changing shared portrait – a living mosaic of many individuals merged into one. The visuals are created entirely by code, while the live-generated multichannel soundscape surrounds visitors, inviting them to step into this digital image and become part of something bigger.

Concept/Design/Code: Ksawery Kirklewski
Generative Sound: Arkadiusz Krupiński
Tech Management: Jakub Kirklewski

Tech Scheme

WE ARE ONE by Ksawery Komputery – tech scheme of Interaction

WE ARE ONE by Ksawery Komputery – tech scheme of Sound

WE ARE ONE by Ksawery Komputery – tech scheme of Power

WE ARE ONE by Ksawery Komputery – tech scheme of Data

We Are One rises as a 13-meter-tall semi-transparent LED screen built from 80 vertical strips, each stretching 20 meters in length. Complementing this structure are eight LED matrix panels housed in metal casings with diffused, blurred surfaces that soften and transform the light.

Sound unfolds through two main speakers and a subwoofer, supported by eight additional speakers that together create a deep spatial audio environment.

The interaction is conducted through a camera that invites visitors to step forward and see their own image distorted and projected into the installation.

All communication between the computer and the LED strips, as well as with the matrix screens, runs over the Ethernet protocol. This approach enables reliable point-to-point connections of up to 100 meters and also allows the use of Ethernet switches, so multiple devices can connect and exchange data seamlessly.

The computer generates pixels and streams them to the LED system at 107 frames per second which is an enormous flow of data. To handle this, we’ve developed a custom data-compression method, applying mathematical and logical operations that shrink the data size while preserving both quality and speed.

User interaction is driven by a high-speed infrared camera.

Because the LEDs and displays refresh at 107 frames per second, we selected a camera operating above that threshold. A 120 fps model ensures smooth visual synchronization and minimizes latency, so a visitor’s movements appear in real time – like looking into a living, digital mirror.

One technical challenge is the potential for light feedback loops: changes in LED brightness can influence the camera’s input, which then alters the LEDs again, creating stroboscopic effects. To prevent this, the installation uses an infrared camera that ignores visible light and captures only infrared. Visitors are illuminated by a dedicated infrared lamp, a technique commonly found in night-vision and CCTV systems.

The soundscape of We Are One runs through two complementary systems: main and spatial.

The main system features two high-power speakers delivering expansive stereo sound, reinforced by a sub-bass that grounds the experience with deep, resonant low frequencies. Through this system, visitors hear environmental sounds and the phrase We Are One repeated like a mantra – moments when the entire installation locks into perfect synchronization.

The spatial system consists of eight mid-high range speakers mounted above the matrix displays. From each one, a distinct voice speaks in a different language, surrounding visitors with a polyphony of human presence. When the mantra is spoken, the spatial system unites with the main system, amplifying the sense of collective harmony.

Power distribution in We Are One is designed around a centralized system. A three-phase power outlet positioned near the computer acts as the primary source, supplying electricity to every part of the installation. From this single hub, power is routed to the truss motors, the computer and sound system, the LED strip controllers, and the matrix displays.

At the core of We Are One is a single Mac Studio, acting as the media server where both sound and visuals are processed and exchanged.

All imagery is generated through custom-built visual software designed to handle high-frame-rate camera input and stream lossless data to the LEDs via the Mixer. Developed in JavaScript, this intermediate system is modular, flexible, and efficient – allowing pre-coded effects to be layered, made audio-reactive, or triggered through MIDI.

The Mixer operates as the Ethernet data hub. It assigns device addresses, processes LED data, splits it, and delivers each stream precisely where it needs to go.

The visual system is also linked to VCV Rack, a modular synthesis environment. Through MIDI, visuals and sound can trigger one another, creating a reactive live audiovisual experience. VCV Rack outputs directly to both the main and spatial systems through a soundcard, driving 11 independent audio channels.

Generative Sound System

"The sound layer was designed as a generative system, responding in real time to the camera integrated with the visuals. Eight distributed loudspeakers carried recorded voices in eight languages, echoing themes of meaning, connection, and collective memory. These voices emphasized that AI does not present an autonomous intelligence but reflects the sum of our own input – a mirror of human knowledge, language, and experience. The work invites awareness of how this shared presence is continuously shaped by everyone, urging a careful and attentive engagement rather than blind fascination."
– Arkadiusz Krupiński