Wolfie Christl
Debunking the Tech-bro AI Cult
The lecture and discussion is the accompanying programme of Kristóf Kelemen’s performance Some Viewers Might Find This Distracting.
This lecture by Vienna-based technologist, researcher and educator Wolfie Christl (Cracked Labs - Institute for Critical Digital Culture) aims to be nothing less than a crash course in everything artists and cultural practitioners need to know about this strange thing called ‘artificial intelligence’.
What is it, where does it come from, and will it take over the world—or is it all fake? Who is in control, what are the real risks, and what about energy consumption, ‘ghost work’, privatization of cultural knowledge, and Silicon Valley tech fascism? We also want to discuss how we can engage or play with ‘AI’ in artistic practice without feeding the industry hype. Or are the new Luddites right, and is refusal/resistance the way to go?
The lecture is followed by a Q&A with the audience.
The program is realized with the kind support of British Council Budapest.
Wolfie Christl is a public-interest technologist, researcher, educator, and writer with a background in sociology and media art based in Vienna, Austria. Until 2006, he was part of Public Netbase, a digital art platform and early hackerspace in Vienna. His recent work focuses on consumer surveillance, algorithmic control, platform power, and the datafication of work. He has published several comprehensive reports on digital tracking, the commercial misuse of consumer data, and worker monitoring. His research has been taken up by policymakers across the world and has contributed to the filing of GDPR complaints and lawsuits against unlawful data practices. Christl and his projects have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and many other media outlets.
