In a world too complex to fully grasp, fears of apocalypse and collapse echo an ancient cultural narrative. Georgina Voss, author of Systems Ultra, and writer Thomas Moynihan explore how personal and collective anxieties arise in uncertain times. Voss shows how complex systems—networks of people, things, and ideas—can be understood as sites of revelation around scale, time, materiality, deviance, and breakage, moving beyond tales of technological exceptionalism to help us see these systems more clearly and possibly change them. Together, they trace why fears of societal collapse persist and what they reveal about our struggle to comprehend a world that may be beyond understanding.
Death by complexity? “Ultra systems” and other (non-)existential risks revised / Georgina Voss (GB), Thomas Moynihan (GB); Moderator: Johanna T. Wallenborn (DE), Photo: flap
Lecture & Talk
Death by complexity? “Ultra systems” and other (non-)existential risks revised
Georgina Voss (GB), Thomas Moynihan (GB); Moderator: Johanna T. Wallenborn (DE)
POSTCITY, First Floor, Conference Hall
Mi. 3. Sep. 2025
14:40
–
15:30
Sprache //
EN
Ticket //
FESTIVALPASS+, FESTIVALPASS, ONE DAY PASS
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Photo: Sophie Voss
Georgina Voss
Georgina Voss is a writer, artist, scholar, and author of Systems Ultra (Verso 2024). She explores the politics and presence of large-scale technology and heavy industry through performance, installation, and writing. Her work has been exhibited and performed at institutions including transmediale, The Design Museum, and Deutsches Technikmuseum. Georgina is Visiting Professor at the UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies and was co-founder and lead of Supra Systems Studio (UAL) and Strange Telemetry.
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Photo: Thomas Moynihan
Thomas Moynihan
Thomas is a UK-based author. He studies the history of ideas, or, how worldviews change over time as we have learn more about the universe and our place within it. His most recent book is X-Risk: How Humanity Discovered Its Own Extinction (MIT Press, 2020). Holding a PhD from Oriel College, Oxford, Thomas is currently a Research Affiliate with Cambridge University’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. His writing regularly appears in publications like Big Think, the BBC, and Aeon.
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Photo: Konstantin Stell
Johanna T. Wallenborn
With a background in Futures Studies, Philosophy, and Media Studies, Johanna explores how emerging technologies shape culture and society. With over 12 years in cultural management, she has curated and consulted on international projects linking art, science, and society. She currently leads a project on open source and digital sovereignty at the German Informatics Society, and regularly teaches critical AI and futures studies courses at various universities.
