Datasets vs Mindsets

Post-Soviet Explorations of the Digital Control Society

A huge part of the processes around us are digitized, becoming datasets that can be analyzed by a variety of dynamic algorithms which don’t only recognize and process incoming information, but also identify and predict patterns in its changes at speeds and scales inaccessible to human perception. Digitization ranks among the most important national prerogatives of many post-Soviet countries. In its own way,the local context transforms the understanding and implementation of digital tools. These algorithms, often based on machine learning, have a number of limitations, and the so-called biases ― which they learned from the data on which they were trained― form feedback loops that influence what takes place in the physical world, and create opportunities for various forms of so-called algorithmic control. This project is dedicated to the artistic exploration of the boundaries between digital and physical spaces, and the spectrum of phenomena and consequences of the implementations of algorithmic regulation and control tools in the post-Soviet context. The project aims to present several generations of new media artists from post-Soviet countries in the international context. It includes an exhibition, a one-day conference and a one-day performance program using innovative forms of representation and interaction between online and offline formats, such as new approaches to webcasting and experimental web-interfaces, which create brand-new user experiences for online visitors.