Picture this: you're in a pitch dark room and suddenly someone turns on a bright light. You immediately feel the urge to squint, shield your eyes, or even turn away. This automatic response is more than just a biological quirk - it’s a survival mechanism that protects our vision and helps us adapt to different environments. But what if machines could feel this discomfort too? What if they could squint, recoil, and eventually adjust just as we do?

Light sensitivity is a fundamental feature of sensory perception of living beings. At first, I thought of creatures that have eyes, like humans and animals, but then I also thought of the flowers on my desk that bloom in the daytime and close their petals when it’s nighttime. Light is not inherently something that affects machines, at least not in the way it affects us humans. People and other living beings don’t just notice light, we feel it. The glow of a candle can be cozy and comforting, while harsh fluorescent lights might feel cold or overwhelming. Light isn’t just something we detect, it shapes our moods and experiences in complex ways. Machines, on the other hand, don’t see or experience light the way we do. A robot’s sensor doesn’t appreciate a sunset or squint in bright sunlight - it just takes in data, converting light into numbers without any real awareness.

For this assignment, I imagined an artificial creature that not only reacts to light but also learns from it. Its sensors will be able to detect brightness. At first, it recoils from intense light, curling into itself like a turtle in its shell. But over time, it begins to accept and integrate light into its awareness, gradually coming out of its shell as it becomes accustomed to its environment. The creature wouldn't just mimic human-like squinting. It would experience photophobia and adaptation in a gradual way, bridging the gap between reaction and true perception.