Arse Elektronika Linz 2023
| Performances |
Circuitous Bodies
“Circuitous Bodies” uses nail art and noise intertwined as a tool to transcend physical boundaries and bend the social norms surrounding the body.
The nails transform into a political and performative act manifesting in a sonic space, with sound oscillators integrated into the nails.
With this synthesis, “Circuitous Bodies” enters into a resonance between noise and nail art that acts as a form of expression for marginalized subjects. This resonance creates a transcendental space of expression for marginalized bodies that oscillate with the sound frequencies surrounding the space.
Volkan Dinçer and Behiye Erdemir are a multidisciplinary artists duo focused on discovering
the causalities between things, using physical interfaces, low-level electronics, the body, and
programming as media to explore the sensory and notional relationships between various
living and non-living systems.
Veronica Pace is a contemporary dancer currently pursuing her BA in Contemporary Dance at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz, Austria. Veronica has trained with renowned artists and has participated in multiple stage performances, which earned her several prestigious awards and scholarships, including one for the Broadway Dance Centre in New York and one for ACTS/Ecole de danse contemporaine de Paris.
Giga guat!
Sebastian Vetter will carry out a cooking performance titled “Giga guat!”
Take a seat and buckle up, a feast for the alphas and sigmas! Seasoned with the wisdom of ancients, this farmers-lunch will awaken the hustler in you. Join us, when we dive into the esoteric arts of “gmüatlich ham”.
Born in 1991 in Lustenau, Sebastian Vetter is a trained chef, Marxist talkalot and freelance journalist.
Introduction to the history of oral sex
by Daniel Bierdümpfl , Maximilian Josef Modl and Susanne von Floreschy-Weinfeld
Have you ever wondered when in history the first ever oral sex happened?
Was it fellatio or cunnilingus? Was it for pleasure or ritual? Are humans the only ones to do it?
The history of fellatio and cunnilingus reaches back as far as the possibility to write and paint, to the possibility of history itself.
Deep dive into the absurdity of the history of oral sex. Or maybe just dip your toe if you prefer feet to tongue.
Techno-Fetisch Party
At his Techno-Fetish Party, Dani Ploeger will show and demonstrate several of his apps and other intimate technological appliances, alongside an exploration of their theoretical, artistic and sexy contexts. Through close encounters with his fingers, saliva and the writing of Marx, Freud and Kristeva, among others, this event will encourage you to question and pervert commonplace practices and assumptions around everyday technology.
Dani Ploeger is an artist and cultural critic who explores situations of conflict and crisis on the fringes of the world of high-tech consumerism. His work spans a broad range of forms, from media art, installations and film to performance art, anarchist engineering and cultural theory. It is often informed by field research on the use of everyday technologies under extraordinary circumstances. He has made a VR installation while accompanying frontline troops in the Russo-Ukrainian war, traveled to dump sites in Nigeria to collect electronic waste originating from Europe and stolen razor wire from the so-called ‘high-tech fence’ on the EU outer border in Hungary. He is currently working on the development of anarchist technologies for the Rojava Revolution in North-East Syria.
Dani Ploeger is Professor of Performance and Technology at the University of Music and Theatre Munich. Dani’s artwork has been exhibited worldwide, for example at ZKM Karlsruhe, Venice Architecture Biennale, London Film Festival and the Nairobi National Museum. His book Deserted Devices and Wasted Fences: Everyday Technologies in extreme circumstances was published with Triarchy Press in 2021.
Technology as a Resistance Tool Against Sexual Norms — Chance or Exclusion?
by maiz, Nina Comtessa, sugar pa! and Damijan Stranner
Through discussion and performance, maiz and its invited guests will engage with issues such as self-determination, gender, sex, desire, sexuality, relationships, work, and technology. Through the lens of intersectionality, decolonization, and outside of patriarchal heteronormativity, we aim to question the universalization of experiences propagated by dominant discourses.
Using words, metaphors, and art, we will address the question of who speaks about our experiences and for whom we speak, as well as what kind of knowledge is valued and recognized beyond the hegemonic Euro- and human-centered perspective, which bases its profit on the domination of nature and bodies. In this regard, we ponder the role of technology in contributing to the dominant utilitarian order, as well as the cracks through which marginalized bodies and other beings can pursue their well-being, in the sense of Quechuan Sumak kawsa, and their autonomy.
Performance by Uýra:
Indigenous in a diasporic context, two spirits (trans) and a human rights activist. She works as a visual artist and art educator. She is a Biologist and has a Master in Amazonian Ecology. Through art, she creates images that contrast different natures: that of life in a state of freedom and that of violence against biodiversity and vulnerable human groups. Throughout exhibitions in Brazil and around the world, she has been researching, exposing and proposing the debate on the colonial erasure and resistance of indigenous peoples in history and the world today. Among others, Uýra was featured in the 34th Sao Paulo Bienal and 14th Bienal Manifesta (Kosovo). She was the winner of the PIPA Award 2022 and the YES to Racial Equality Award 2023. Her works are part of the collections of institutions such as Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Castello di Rivoli (Italy), Currier Museum of Art and Los Angeles County Museum (USA).
When sex robots come! - an IT security penetration test and its legal and ethical implications
In this workshop, the participants dealt with questions that a sex robot can entail:
A penetration test on a sex robot is given a piquant ambiguity, but the subject of data protection also becomes more attractive thanks to the sex robot, although data protection is constantly seen as a hindrance to technical innovation.
In addition, criminal law regulations are to be examined, which apply, for example, to the design of sex dolls that look childlike. Following on from this serious topic, the global legal development is considered, which has experienced a strong backlash in recent years, including here in Europe.
What should be discussed is how we want to develop sex robots in the future, not whether.
Iris Phan is a lawyer specializing in IT and data protection law and a philosopher of robot ethics. She did her doctorate on the topic "Legal and ethical implications of artificial intelligence using the example of the sex robot.
| Night Line |
curated by Walter Schalter
Walter Schalter is more fascinated by nonknowledge than by knowledge. As an economist, he dealt with welfare economics, collective decisions, environmental economics, genetic algorithms, and complexity research. In his work as an artist, he focuses on the relationship between emotions and reason in an evolutionary and social context. In 2016, the artist founded the cultural association DH5. Starting from an attractive and centrally located venue, around 30 active people create and facilitate a broad spectrum of artistic and social processes. The artist sees the interplay of the active people and the interaction with their environment as a collective work of art. Wherever Walter Schalter has been able to use his great unsettlement for artistic purposes, he can be found as a director, actor, host, musicial, and performer.
Ultimate Full Contact Westling Madness
moderated by Alice Moe
music by ZAK! (Amaryllis and Filonas Baschant, Max Liska and Veselin Hristov
stagedesign by Haras Ananas, Christoph Eblie Ebner and Walter Schalter
With the motto “Blood, Sweat & Tears,” the performance explores the physicality of interacting bodies. The stories we tell you on the evenings of Arse Elektronika are wet, dripping with pathos and action. In the late-night ultimate full-contact wrestling madness, bodies are entangled and disentangled, merge and dissolve — in the truest sense of the word.
Concert Missex
Missex (Barcelona, Bogotá), a queer and anti-racist character, is always masked to give space to any identity. Through her body and voice, she supports anti-racist, transfeminist and LGTBIQ+ struggles. Together with her partner Nea, they have created the musical genre electroguarritrop, a mix of tropical electroclash. Her intense performance makes the tiles crumble.
DJs
Confirmed so far: Schwammerlbaron, ZAK!
| Film screenings |
Wired Desires — short film selection presented by Porn Film Festival Vienna
Get ready for a captivating exploration with our WIRED DESIRES PORN SHORTS, where playful, cheerful, and adventurous scenes become the order of the day! Introducing toys into our intimate moments isn’t just about novelty – it’s about broadening the horizons of pleasure and connection. From the traditional to the technologically advanced, such as innovative sex robots or sex tech, these tools of desire cater to a spectrum of preferences and fantasies. Different bodies resonate with different toys, while various dreams spark unique desires. Join us as our PORN SHORTS draw you into an evocative tale and let’s embark on this playful journey together, embracing all avenues of pleasure, ensuring that as we explore these porn shorts, we become even more enriched and fabulous as a collective!
- Input Error II, Iris Glitzer, Germany, 2022, 00:22:51
- Body Control, Paulina Pawłowska, Poland 2022, 00:02:27
- PornLife 3.0 / Dirty Dreaz, Lily Lu, Germany 2022, 00:19:59
- Melting Point, Mindy Stricke, Canada 2022, 00:05:00
- INFINITE LUBE, Cornpop Bright, Squareheart, Greece 2022, 00:03:30
- Indulgence, Prince Poison, United States, 00:07:20
- Automation by four chambers, Four Chambers, UK, 2021, 15:41
- Toy, Jan Jester Chmel, Austria, 2022, 01:30
Hentai Shorts Selection
Sinan Şahin – For me, Hentai is a digital medium that encompasses an infinite diversity of art and opportunity. Since the first animation in 1984, Hentai has evolved rapidly as an independent narrative form.
The digital art of animation is not bound by reality, so technology that does not (yet) exist in our world can be played out without limits. Accordingly, whole worlds are created that can be painted completely freely.
We're going to take a closer look at these worlds with Sinan Şahin of My Hentai Porn. The studio has been distributing Hentai content for 26 years and offers some of its colorful animations in our film block on opening day.
- Angel Blade Punish! 1 – 27 min. 2005
- Nano Nurses 2 – 25 min. 2002
- Your Attraction 1 – 28 min. 2010
- Succuba Mist Story — The Animation – 16 min. 2017
L'«IL YA» DU RAPPORT SEXUEL: entity, identity and the construction of a situational San Francisco
documentary feature film, 2023, 95 min
Do you want to fly with me to San Francisco and find out, if there is sexual relation? The trivial question marks the start of an paradoxical relationship experiment during the 2013 edition of Monochroms Arse Elektronika from October 1th to 6th. Inspired by the french philosopher Jean-Luc Nancys text
“L'«il ya» du rapport sexuel”, the two almost unknown Lisa Schröter and Jos Diegel meet for an intimate scenario, that emerges as a performance of relationship. Equipped with two cameras, they document their physical and linguistic relationship in a Huis Clos, that seems as constructed as it is real.
Musings of a Mechatronic Mistress — The Peculiar Purpose of Tiffany the Sexrobot
WORLD PREMIERE!
a film by Jasmin Hagendorfer
In a world where technology and humanity intertwine, Tiffany, a self-aware “sex robot”, embarks on an unparalleled journey of self-discovery. Conversing with experts, Tiffany confronts the societal norms, body image stereotypes, and patriarchal influences that have shaped her design. As debates over her societal impact surge, Tiffany navigates the complexities of interdisciplinary communication, the rise of AI companions, and the vast realm of innovative sex tech. But it’s the potential for a radical shift away from human-like designs, and the embrace of individualized, DIY solutions, that truly challenges the status quo. With every revelation, Tiffany’s contemplative journey challenges our perceptions and compels us to question the boundaries of technology, desire, and societal expectations.
feat.: Janina Loh, Jason Scott, Tanja Kubes, Kate Devlin, Johannes Grenzfurthner, Katta Spiel, Iris Phan
co-funded by the European Union, a project initiated by Eva Gengler, Dagmar Kiener, Stefan Lacina, erfolgsfaktor FRAU e.V.
After the screening of the riveting documentary, audiences were treated to an enlightening post-film panel discussion titled “Mechatronic Musings: Discussing Society, Feminism, and the AI Revolution”. This conversation brought together a stellar lineup of thought leaders, including the film's creator Jasmin Hagendorfer, but also it’s interviewees Kate Devlin, Katta Spiel, Iris Phan, Philipp Fussenegger, and one of the project initiators, Stefan Lacina. Together, they delv deep into the societal implications, feminist viewpoints, and the transformative nature of the ongoing AI revolution, providing a holistic insight into the dynamic relationship between technology and humanity.
| Workshops |
LIMITED ACCESS TO WORKSHOPS
Please reserve your place when you plan to attend a workshop!
BOT or NOT
“BOT or NOT” is an interactive project, a dating app that explores human-machine relationships. As technology continues to advance, questions regarding the ethics and social norms surrounding relationships with artificial intelligence are gaining importance. Will there be a future where dating an AI or engaging in intimate activities with one is socially acceptable? What about developing feelings of love for an AI? These complex questions demand thoughtful reflection, and as society wrestles with the potentialities and consequences of AI relationships, the future remains uncertain.
*** Please bring your own laptop.
Thomas Geissl is a design technologist. He is also a member of the nantlab collective, which specializes in building interactive installations and conducting workshops. Furthermore, he is currently pursuing studies in Postdigital Lutherie in Linz.
Remember the film “Her”? It made us question the idea of falling in love (or having sex) with an AI, finding it simultaneously creepy, sad, and frightening. But such connections might already be happening with large language models like ChatGPT.
Let’s conduct experiments and shape the personality of your future AI lover and let it/him/her/them control your sex toys.
There will be an increasing number of human-machine relationships, and that might not necessarily be a negative development. However, it is crucial to design these relationships carefully. Let’s have a discussion!
Copy-Paste Hentai
Big Tiddy Oni-Chan is here to penetrate your dreams with their squishy boobs and throbbing cocks! Our mission is to queer Hentai with original artwork and fresh narratives, infiltrating the Hentaisphere one drawing at a time.
The Big Tiddy Oni-Chan Collective was founded in 2023 by Fellartio, Mocca and Kay, who met studying Japan Studies, and later joined by Oatmink and Jan. We are currently exploring making and workshops as methods for learning and provoking critical discussions.
How to Cheese AI
by Hidéo Snes
By referencing romanticism, grand-guignolesque black humor, and symbolism, Hidéo Snes creates with daily, recognizable elements, an unprecedented situation in which the viewers are confronted with the conditioning of their own perception and have to reconsider their biased position. SNES´ artworks sometimes radiate a cold and latent violence. At times, disconcerting beauty emerges. The inherent visual seductiveness, along with the conciseness of the exhibitions, further complicates the reception of their manifold layers of meaning. By rejecting an objective truth and global cultural narratives, Hidéo Snes seduces the viewer into a world of ongoing equilibrium and the interval that articulates the stream of daily events. Moments are depicted that only exist to punctuate the human drama in order to clarify our existence and to find poetic meaning in everyday life.
(By David James Ross & Joke De Winter)
OltrePelle
Bruixes_Lab is a nomadic lab where biohacking and witchcraft rituals are performed to create speculative scenarios about intimate care and pleasure and to destigmatize taboos around sexuality. An interactive space where intimate biotechnology, kinky, transfeminist and DIY practices intertwine in symbiosis with natural environments, microbiology and bodily fluids. During the ‘OltrePelle’ workshop, we will explore the potential of algae and bacterial cellulose in the sextech industry in terms of growing living organisms for second skins, erotic haptic sensors and kinky wearables. Learning new methods of making sensory surfaces to enhance erotical self-pleasure, open a dialogue to reclaim our body and explore sexuality through technology.
Giulia Tomasello is an interaction designer and educator who combines biohacking and wearable technology to break taboos about women's bodies. In 2018 she won the STARTS Award with the Future Flora project and for her multidisciplinary work she has received other European and international awards such as the World Omosiroi Japanese Award. Giulia founded Coded Bodies, a platform designed to learn the basics of soft wearables and explore biological tissues.
Cristina Dezi is an interdisciplinary artist and designer. Through a feminist critique, she experiments with biomateriality and wearable technology through the intersection of textile research, new media, sound design and biohacking. She holds a degree in Fashion and Textile Design and New Technologies and a master's degree in Experimental Animation. Her research and design move in the fields of sextechnology, sci-fi eco-erotica, witchcraft rituals, cyberfeminism and technofeminism.
The Pleasure of Hacking
by Sabrina Verhage
Sometimes in order to gain a better understanding of how things actually work, you’ve got to take them apart. In this hackathon we will hack sex toys, take control of their behavior and design them to our own desire. We will explore the technology that makes our toys vibe and share a variety of ways to go about hacking them. Through the act of hacking, empowerment meets pleasure and technology becomes a gateway to profound self-discovery.
*** Please bring your own laptop – and optionally also your own sextoy which you want to hack.
| Exhibition |
1000 Hungry Eyes
by Kevin Blackistone
This work pays homage to the first-ever circulated “virtual reality” experiences, through multiple layering of erotic imagery in a melange device of original stereoscopic design and the modern VR system technologies. It was pornographic imagery that popularized the stereographic image, launching what would become a long trajectory of erotic labor driving the development and dissemination of mass media technologies to the present day. This iteration connects today’s technology with the historic importance of this labor as principal driver in the mainstream adoption of new technologies, and hopes to inform the audience of the oft-silenced voice of the sex worker.
B-hind: intimate innovation
by Dani Ploeger
B-hind offers a unique Internet of Things (IoT) solution to fully integrate your sphincter muscle in everyday living. Our revolutionary anal electrode-powered interface system, developed by Dani Ploeger, replaces conventional interaction and hand enables and voice-based advanced digital device control rooted in the interiors of your body. Celebrating the abject and the grotesque, B-hind facilitates simple, plug-and-play access to a holistic body experience in the age of networked society.
Candy Grabber
You want to grab candy but have social phobias or want to avoid time-consuming interactions?
Candy Grabber helps: grab the candies of your choice! Sweet or salty & almost as much pleasure as real candies.
Candy Grabber – and you're just 1 grab away from satisfying your cravings!
Genital-shaped Candies Sweet Ingredients: Sugar, Fruit Flavor, Natural Color
Genital-shaped Candies Salty Ingredients: Wheat, Olive Oil, White Wine, Salt
Candy Grabber is a modified toy with levers to control tongs to grab candy & move it to the ejector.
The modification consists of computer-controlled music adjustment, moaning & little blinking.
The 3 Power Candy Humans CADerpillar, liv & paulaner are munich based artists who met at f.u.c.k.-muc, a fnt*i hackerspace taking place every 2nd wednesday in the munich ccc µc3.
Cybrothel
by Philipp Fussenegger, Stefan Kainbacher & Matthias Smetana.
Embark on an extraordinary journey with Cybrothel at ARSE Elektronika. Dive headfirst into the compelling universe of sexual wellness powered by the most advanced technologies. Our ground-breaking experiences have been designed to catapult you into thrillingly vivid virtual realities, showcasing the pinnacle of passion and intimacy. With this unique installation you are not just an observer, you are a pioneer.
Experience the evolution of the commercial video game “Cherry VX” like never before, elevated and amplified by Cybrothel at ARSE Elektronika. Cutting-edge VR technology, realistic sex dolls, and sensory stimulation create an unforgettable experience.
Computer says no
by Thomas Kranabetter
We condemn sexual assault in real life. Does the some logic apply to technology? Are sex toys allowed to say "no" and do we respect that? Is there a difference between a simple vibrator saying "no" or a complex AI avatar you might experience with a virtual reality headset and where do you draw the line?
Try it for yourself: what level of refusal would you choose for your sex toys.
Das Vorspiel/ The Foreplay
by Litto / Daniela Weiss
Music by Stefan Voglsinger
“DAS VORSPIEL” is an interactive audio-visual installation that can be perceived passively or actively via an interface. The audience can choose to interfere with the piece and trigger the images and the sound by teasing and exploring - or just lean back and enjoy the abstract voyeuristic gaze and shifting soundscapes produced by the players. The object reacts to the movements and state of pleasure of its visitors.
Litto / Daniela Weiss (*1984) is a hybrid artist who examines the worlds of analog and digital art. Having a background in visual arts and applied Business Administration, she also began her studies in digital art (Vienna University of Applied Arts) in 2017, expanding her artistic research from interaction design and UX Design to the field of mixed reality. In 2017 , 2020 she co-founded the web-based AR app “The Artificial Museum”.
Mar Osés
XXXGel®:
XXXGel® proposes a speculative narrative around the possibilities of bodies in the pharmacopornographic era, characterised by the political and technical management of the body, sex, and sexuality. In this sexopolitical state, the body is not bounded by a carnal envelope, nor is it pre-discursive: it is a multi-connected technoalive entity that incorporates technology. In the context of these technobodies, it is xenobiotic substances such as Climaxene found in XXXGel® that are capable of corrupting the wetware, transforming and expanding it, understanding us as toxicopornographic subjects: subjectivities defined by the substances that dominate their metabolisms.
Bimbo Dildo:
This project references Paul B. Preciado's Countersexual Manifesto (2018) as it explores the idea of dildo from a poliedric perspective: taking into account all its symbolic, artistic, technological and sexo-political possibilities. The project proposes an understanding of the hyperfeminine bimbo gender performance as a penetration strategy (an at-first-sight contradictory comparison due to the strongly masculinized character that has been historically associated with the phallus), in which bimbo subjects have demonstrated they have the power of transforming from within the subjectivity of those who interact with them, functioning as a clear example of body modification.
Mar Osés (she/they) (Spain, 1999) is an artist-researcher whose work focuses on the problematization of digital technologies in the current on-life context and from a gender perspective. Her most recent projects bring together her interests in the visuality of artificial intelligences, gender performance and the possibilities of biotechnologies within a xenofeminist frame, which have been presented in various exhibitions and events in Spain and Austria.
Nas DA/UA
by Kaname ‵Kenny′ Muroya
The project name is a play on words with the german word for rhino (Nashorn) and the Name of the co-creator Nas. It aims to enhance human capabilities in a sense of transhumanism and transgenderism. The user will attach to a open source modular robotic inflatable prosthetic phallus on the genitals which looks like a strapon. On the “inside” there are vibration motors which get triggered, if the capacitive touch sensor of the prosthetic is activated. The behavior is programmed using Processing and Open Sound Control enabling orchestration of synchronized collective orgasm, if mass manufactured and interconnected over WiFi.
Kaname "Kenny" Muroya is an inventor, sofware developer, musician, philosopher, workout enthusiast and a curious cat. Supported languages: JP, DE, EN, UA, ES, JS, TS, Perl, Python, C++, Java, Swift. (ASM, BASH)
“For me ‘art’ is whatever makes one human to another feel connected and to feel understood and accepted. It doesn’t have to please everyone or be the same for everyone. With my art, I try to make that exact ‘missing link’ for human connection with my somewhat limited resources and probably more limited skills. But we are all onthewayto.pro I guess. My artistic career really started with the creation of cocktail robots for ACRA (Annual Cocktail Robot Award) or better known as Roboexotica, where it is kinda the tradition that I arrive at the exhibition with just the parts, putting it together as ‘performance art’. One requirement I have was to use one new technology I have not used yet every year to improve the robot as well as my skills. I realized that if I waited for the project to finish, I would never be there. I hope that if you keep improving your skills, one day I will have enough skills and experience to finish them.
So here I am, creating a mechatronic prosthetic phallus for my best friend, so he can feel the connection in many ways.”
It’s-a me, Nas like 🍍
I met Kenny a couple of years ago in Munich, right in the blooming of Corona times. It wasn’t long till we became friends and tried to help and support each other how we could. Kenny’s empathetic and openminded nature has brought him to the idea of bringing this project to life in order to help make me feel comfortable and content with my body during the “piquant moments”, focus on having a pleasurable time and enjoy having a nas-mazing experience of having a body-part-extention that I feel is missing.
So with pleasure, i do my best to contribute to the project of Nas Horn &quo; see where the journey will bring us :)
Tihi ^^
Object Sexualification
by Ekaterina Osipova, Kay Kender
The installation Object Sexualification invites visitors to sexualize and sexually objectify… objects! Reversing prevalent understandings of material intimate encounters that deem objects mere mediators of human-to-human intimacies, the installation puts objects and their sexual pleasures center stage. Visitors of the installation are encouraged to embrace their filthy human minds and act as a medium for sexual intimacies between objects, and by doing so learn about their own (sexy) entanglements with the material world.
Ekaterina Osipova is a researcher and doctoral student at TU Wien. Their doctoral thesis, which they pursue at the Human Computer Interaction Group, explores how different forms of intimacies materialize through digital and technological interactions. In this context, Ekaterina studies how sex technologies are used, commercialized and diversified in sex work, marketing, and artistic/DIY communities. Having a background in Science and Technology Studies, Ekaterina strives to critically attend to and emphasize marginalized perspectives within technological developments.
Their research interests include gender and sexualities, understandings of health and the body, and new materialist theories and methods.
Kay Kender is a university assistant and doctoral researcher at the Human Computer Interaction Group, TU Wien. With a background in investigative design, they employ critical, speculative and participatory design methods to examine technological ecosystems and explore possible futures: Their research seeks to transform and crip technologies by centering the experiences and dreams of marginalised groups. Their research interests include disability and technology, queer technoculture, ecological design and teaching and ways of knowing.
TabOO
Isac Asimov wrote down the iron laws of robotics in his short story Runaround (1942). Mark Tilden expanded these rules to include the basic laws of natural selection: protect thy ass, feed thy ass, move thy ass to better real estate. Eliezer S. Yudkowsky brought altruism into play. John E. LaMuth steered the rules of artificial intelligence towards ethical debates and also describes humor, ecstasy and happiness in his patented breakdown of AI communication content.
In principle, this describes basic properties of life, but in my opinion not properties of intelligent life. What is missing is the drive away from the individualistic being, the turning to the other, the finding of - and the term was chosen consciously - pleasure in, with and through the other. Sex is missing as a form of communication, as an integral part of intelligent life, because it is usually left out of technical and scientific debates for moral reasons.
In the debate about AI, the fear that machines could become intelligent and harm people has been expressed not only since Asimov. But what if the machine is just seeking for pleasure? I suggest using the drive to turn towards the other as an indicator. If a machine noticed a desire to contact other machines, that would be a sign to suspect intelligent life in an AI. I think the last taboo is the sex that machines have with their own kind. The question is: would we recognize it as such? Will we recognize how and in what a machine finds pleasure?
Franz Ablinger, electrical engineer, computer scientist, digital artist and cultural scientist. Doctorate at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna 2017.
Co-founder and CTO of the artist collective monochrom, networker, context hacker, power plant cooperative, car sharing activist and hobby gardener. He is also known as DJ sexual frank.
Trans/Masc
“We need new stories,” Donna Haraway stated in her essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” from 1985. The depictions of masculinity in Offerus’ work are signs of a new era. The cyborg serves as a symbolic challenge to the notion of a fixed and binary identity, acting as a missing link between human and machine and embodying transformation, particularly in light of humanity’s entrance into the realm of transhumanism! In “Trans/Masc,” societal codifications are dismantled, critically examined, and reinterpreted through abstract body extensions, modifications, and cyborgization. Terms like biopower (Foucault), transhumanist utopias or dystopias, ethics, and gender find new meaning in Offerus Ablinger's socio-political works.
Offerus Ablinger’s interdisciplinary, process-oriented work revolves around the subject of masculinity, subculture and their impact on the mainstream. In doing so, he uses the media of painting, performance, installation and moving images. In his artistic analysis he uses a kind of transhumanistic science fiction template. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna (Scheirl) in 2020.
“The reality of my life and stories as a queer artist, shaped by origin and identity, flow into my work and create a new aesthetic. It is themes such as classism, body norms, body boundaries, gender and social codes that I deal with in my work. (...) The structures and codes hidden in the maintenance of toxic systems can be found hidden in everyday life, in our culture. Unnoticed, reproduced and passed on, they form the cornerstone of our society.”
Exhibitions (among others): Red Carpet Showroom/Karlsplatz(A), Parallel Vienna(A), MQ-Museumsquartier(A), Vienna Art Week(A), Porn Film Festival Vienna(A), xHIBIT(A), Roboexotica( A), Aa collections(A), Sigmund Freud Museum(A), Dessous(A), VBKÖ- Association of Female Artists Austria(A), Kunstraum GDANSK(Gdansk, Poland), Gallery Barcelona(Belgrade, Serbia)
Undressing Mirror
In the realm of sextech, AI-powered tools have significant potential for misuse, particularly with the rise of Deepfake technology that can manipulate appearances with convincing realism. Existing so-called Deepnude software often utilizes non-consensual images for training, enabling the virtual undressing of individuals without their permission. In contrast, the Undressing Mirror aims to demonstrate the ethical use of this technology. For training the undressing AI the development team committed to using nude photographs exclusively by people who agreed to be part of the dataset, featuring consenting and diverse individuals for both training and inference. The training data was collected just for this AI model and deleted after the final training. The training happened without registering gender, sex, skin colour, age or body type. If the audience agrees to be virtually undressed, they can place themselves in front of the virtual mirror and will see how the machine imagines them naked.
Natalya Shepeleva and Philipp Schostreritsch are software engineers by day and techno-junkies by night. We are a couple of geeks who would like to share our passion for technology with the world. Beware! Our inventions will blow out your mind! And maybe a couple of your devices too 😬
Toma Pilein is an artist, educator, curator and researcher in the field of human-computer interaction. In his work, he builds and dissects machines to reveal and conceal electromagnetic processes through sound, visible light, and consumable substances. Academically, Toma conducts research on electronic textile transducers and teaches students how to build mechatronic ideas. In collaboration with the art group monochrom and the Kulturverein DH5 he brought the festivals Roboexotica, Hedonistika and Arse Elektronika to Linz.
Kat Suryna is a researcher, curator, figurative artist, designer and metalhead. Kat hopes that the new generation of language-processing Artificial Intelligence will solve the greatest challenge to the future of death metal, i.e. a need for at least marginally better lyrics.