Technological 'disruptions'
Join us for an exploration of how artistic practices can illuminate the profound influences of new and emerging technologies on our lives. The rapidly advancing technological landscape of contemporary societies has far-reaching impacts across different aspects of our individual and social lives, continually shaping how we perceive ourselves, how we communicate with each other, how we encounter nature, and how we relate to the outside world at large.
Artists
The exhibition features the works of 7 artists, including four philosophers who engage in artistic processes as a complementary form of research. Several of these artists are closely connected to the community of philosophers of technology in the Netherlands, particularly to members of ESDiT and 4TU. Ethics.
● In her song “Divergent: a plea for empathy across differences”, postdoctoral researcher and song writer Caroline Bollen expresses what it means to be empathetic in a diverse and digital world. An integral part of her research on empathy, the song captures the sensitivity and emotional understanding needed to make sense of injustice and the plea for empathy.
● Ellen Gilbert’s film “Freedom to Think” explores the impact of digital technology on human autonomy and cognitive freedom. With the artist themselves performing a visual narrative with anti-facial recognition makeup, the film reveals how pervasive digital surveillance and behavior manipulation threaten our fundamental rights and freedoms.
● "Resurrecting Digital Souls: Kintsugi Macintosh" by multidisciplinary artist Guido van der Kooij draws a contrast between the rapid consumerism and competitive nature of Western development of technology and the Japanese philosophy of Shinto, which honors the spirit in all things including their devices.
● The installation AIxxNOSOGRAPHIES by new media artist Špela Petrič is a remix of material generated during Petrič’s artistic research on the automation of care. As AI is tested for use in every sector of society, Petrič and her collaborators peered into the near future through an interview with the chief researcher of a medical regulatory body to learn how they have dealt with issues arising from the implementation of AI in healthcare.
● With her poster wall “Technologically mediated encounters with nature”, PhD candidate, environmental activist, and artist Patricia Reyes invites the viewer to contemplate questions concerning what we mean when we speak of “nature”, and how technology influences that meaning
● “Cobalt”, the experimental dance film of PhD candidate and artist Julia Rijssenbeek, explores and imagines future nature-technology-human relationships. The project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between a philosopher of technology, an AI researcher and dancer, and a cinematographer, culminating in a non-verbal philosophical essay that asks: Can humans find a new way to move, to relate differently to other beings? A new (body) language?
● “Somewhere Around 900MHz” by computational artist Christian Schwarz is a repurposed surveillance-tool that generates a sound composition in real time by collecting sensitive information from nearby cellular devices. The viewer contributes to the resulting involuntarily collaborative sound piece with their unique data.
Conference
The exhibition is part of the conference “Rethinking Ethics - Reimagining Technology”, organised by the national NWO-funded research programme on the Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies (ESDiT) and the national platform for ethicists of technology, 4TU. Ethics, hosted by the University of Twente. The conference will take place from October 2 to 4, 2024.
Additional Exhibition during the Conference:
In addition to the exhibition at Vrijhof, several artworks will be exhibited at the DesignLab for the duration of the conference (2-4 October). These are large, interactive artworks that foster exchange with conference participants. Contributing artists include Laura A Dima, Lotje van Lieshout, Michaela Honauer, and Dani Ploeger.
Organisation
The exhibition is an initiative of the ESDiT Art Track and organised by guest curators Dr. Aafke Fraaije (TU Delft), Dr. Julia Hermann (UT), and Kaush Kalidindi (TU/e). It aims to foster exchange between philosophers of technology, artists, and the general public.
