This website has been archived and is longer updated. For more about this project, see art.peteashton.com/instructions-for-humans.

Created by Pete Ashton and Andy Howlett, this is a walk guided by the mobile phone masts of central Birmingham.

The communication infrastructure of the city is mostly hidden, tucked away on top of buildings and under pavements. Its most obvious extrusion are cell towers, landmarks on a map of the invisible territory of radio waves and electronic pulses which brings the internet to our pockets, wherever we are.

Andy has devised a walk around the city using these towers as landmarks or waypoints and invites you to traverse Birmingham as your data does.

At each waypoint you will be asked to contemplate your environment using an algorithm created by Pete. This will be available as a mobile-friendly website or, if you prefer, a printed flowchart.

The algorithm will give you an instruction based on your perception of the city. Will everyone receive the same instructions?

Embrace your innate subjectivity and achieve enlightenment through engagement with the algorithm!