Europe
European Platform for Digital Humanism
Can or should there be something like a European way into the digital society, between the “data capitalism” of the IT monopolists and the “data totalitarianism” of the authoritarian regimes? And if so, would such a European “data humanism” also be competitive?
European ARTificial Intelligence Lab
The European ARTificial Intelligence Lab will be bringing AI related scientific and technological topics to general citizens and art audiences in order to contribute to a critical and reflective society. The project will be focusing on aspects beyond the technological and economic horizon to scrutinize cultural, psychological, philosophical and spiritual aspects.
EMAP/EMARE (European Media Art Platform)
The European Media Art Platform (EMAP) annually awards production grants to outstanding European media artists and supports research, production, presentation and distribution of media art in Europe and beyond, aiming to enable European artists to collaborate on projects and create closer bonds.
Immersify: Immersive Ambisonic Audio
Maciej Glowiak (PL), Maciej Jaskiewicz (PL), Leszek Nowak (PL), Wojciech Raszewski (PL), Jan Skorupa (PL), Eryk Skotarczak (PL)
Experimental ambisonic space combined with VR: The installation is built of 24 independent loudspeakers, which come together to create a sphere. Visitors have the opportunity to stand in the center of the area, wear VR goggles and take part in two different music sessions.
Immersify – cutting edge tools for the next generation of immersive media
Immersify is a European research project that started in October 2017, connecting the Ars Electronica Futurelab with four partners from all over Europe. During this year’s festival, the ongoing progress of Immersify is presented at Deep Space 8K in a series of demos. Also taking place at Deep Space 8K, is a 8K live streaming demo that stretches the limits of what is technologically possible today.
Musiktheater Workshop: Fragments | a digital Freischütz
CyberRäuber (DE)
Opera up close, eye to eye with the main characters: Max must prove himself with a masterly shot to gain the hand of Agathe, the head forester's daughter, and so become his successor. Doubting his skills as a marksman, Max accepts the help of Kaspar, who sold his soul to the devil, to cast seven magic bullets: six of them hit anything the shooter wants, the last one will be directed by the devil...
Panel I: Homo Deus
Renata Schmidtkunz (DE), Josef Penninger (AT), Sophie Wennerscheid (DE)
Renata Schmidtkunz hosts four panel discussions in the summer refectory, prominently featuring Josef Penninger, Sophie Wennerscheid, Oliviero Toscani, Amanda Cox, Markus Poschner, and others. The topic is dedicated to the role of science and research, which initially had to confirm a religious view of the world, then was subordinated to economic rationality, and now, in the dawning age of AI, is reorienting again. Social acceptance in relation to current AI research will be discussed. Another focal point of the panels will be the new artistic possibilities opening up due to AI applications, which also lead to a variety of novel business models or issues with copyright regulations.
Theatre in the Digital Age
As an artistic platform for creation, innovation and collaboration, the European Theatre Convention initiated the project European Theatre Lab – Drama goes digital in 2016. This year for the third time, Ars Electronica and ETC collaborate in a symposium with discussion, a hands-on VR workshop by the CyberRäuber and their Fragments | a digital Freischütz, a virtual reality opera in four episodes.
The Eye of the Other
MAEID – Daniela Mitterberger (AT), Tiziano Derme (IT/AT)
The Eye of the Other delves into non-verbal communication between humans and bats, through the study, translation and manipulation of the bat’s echolocation. This multimodal immersive artwork derives from the desire to transcend the limitation of our living experience by exploring the deeper meaning of mutualistic relationships and interspecies communication between humans and animals, juxtaposing the animals’ gaze and the human gaze.
Speculative Artificial Intelligence
Birk Schmithüsen (DE)
The work consists of a series of aesthetic experiments designed to make processes of artificial neural networks perceptible to humans through audiovisual translation. Exp. # 1 examines inner behavior during the prediction and learning process. Exp. # 2 questions an AI’s capacity for empathy and purpose while communicating with a second AI.
