Conference: The Aesthetics of Bio-Machines and the Question of Life

Today we are immersed in life-simulating digital technologies, such as virtual assistants (Siri, Alexa), generative self-learning computer systems (chatbots), and adaptive robots that use artificial intelligence to learn from their surroundings (robot vacuum cleaners). In new and intriguing ways, these digital technologies raise the question of who and what is alive, and how we as humans cohabit with them. This humanities-based conference will investigate these “life-forms” from an aesthetic perspective by focusing on how we may understand the sensory capabilities of such technologies and the way these are negotiated in literature, art and film.

For two days, we will bring together a wide range of scholars, researchers and artists who explore life-simulating technologies from an aesthetic perspective, including keynote speakers Joanna Zylinska (Professor of Media Philosophy and Critical Digital Practice at King’s College London) and Cally Spooner (Visual artist).

The conference is organised by the research cluster “Bio-machines and the Question of Life” (The Velux Foundations) in close collaboration between the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Copenhagen.

Registration

Please register for the event

For further information, don't hesitate to contact the conference organisers Naja Grundtmann or Johan Lau Munkholm. See also the Center for Culture of Technology at SDU.