Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

For a few minutes this Saturday, I stood inside a small, demarcated circle on the floor, waving my arms and watching the screen in front of me come alive with butterfly-like blobs of light. 

A few moments of joy, when I felt like some kind of energy was flowing between my body and the giant old tree on the screen. 

Okay, alright. It was an illusion; but I have to say that the team that designed this particular art installation succeeded. At least in my case. The soundbox nearby was belching out some commentary, but I wasn’t interested in the sound. It was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and it sounded just that—artificial. 

To my mind, the visual experience was immersive enough.

Called the Wood Wide Web, this art installation is a collaborative effort between digital artists from India and the UK, who use skeletal tracking and AI to bring to life ancient, endangered trees from the two countries. The idea is to personify trees and forests, like the ancient oaks and Krishna figs (Ficus Krishnae), and weave stories highlighting the importance of preserving old forests and reforesting land.