par 1 of the recording of the event 'Stop Making Sense' @ HKW 12 Jan 2019 https://www.hkw.de/en/programm/projekte/veranstaltung/p_146043.php

The Language of Broken Glass Hito Steyerl (filmmaker), Bernd Scherer Presentation, conversation

Hito Steyerl explores the ways in which Artificial Intelligence affects our urban environment and how alternative practices may emerge through pictorial acts in the public space. Her new work The City of Broken Windows (2018), premiered at Castello die Rivoli near Turin, revolves around the process of teaching AI how to recognize the sound of breaking windows. In conversation with Bernd Scherer the artist presents this site-specific film installation.

Language is a Slippery Thing Luc Steels (AI scientist and opera composer) Lecture

A language used to be thought of as a more or less fixed system with a universal, possibly innate underlying structure. But on closer examination, a language is like a river, always changing and fluid. How can we study this highly dynamic object? The talk will first give an impression of the fascinating experiments in language evolution that have been taking place over the past few decades, some of them in the context of art exhibitions. Then Luc Steels will look at how and why social media and AI technology have recently given rise to language abuse that exploits disinformation, divisive discourse, and post-truth conspiracy theories. We have to ask the question: What is the influence of technology on this important shift in human discourse. How is it changing language and the use of language? Will language lose its ability to convince others through argument and to speak the truth? How can we regain this precious tool that is essential for keeping coherence in our society?

Language Agents Luc Steels in conversation with Giulia Bruno (artist) and Armin Linke (artist) A film about Artificial Intelligence, robots, language games, and the characteristics of non-human communication. Giulia Bruno and Armin Linke visited the Belgian scientist and artist Luc Steels in his archive, and have brought together and commented on his extensive research material in a video installation. Steels’s pioneering Talking Heads Experiment, conducted between 1999 and 2001, allowed robots, independent of centralized human input, to develop their own common vocabulary, which was then further developed through interaction with “human intelligence.” In their lecture performance, Giulia Bruno and Armin Linke provide an insight into their film project, which is installed in the exhibition hall in full length.

Discussion and Q&A