Computation, Improvisation, Narration

01/30/25 • 37 min

The stories we tell about, with, or for technologies matter. Can we demystify misnomers such as artificial intelligence through storytelling, role-playing, and improvisation? In this episode, we talk to dmstfctn (Francesco Tacchini and Oliver Smith) and Lawrence Lek about how they build narratives around complex computational systems.
Resources:
The Tricks of the Trade by Dario Fo
Dadda by Brood Ma
Role-play with large language models by M. Shanahan, K. McDonell & L. Reynolds

Host & Producer: Ana-Maria Carabelea
Editing: Ana-Maria Carabelea
Music: Karl Julian Schmidinger
The Digital Deal Podcast is part of European Digital Deal, a project co-funded by Creative Europe and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport. Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) can be held responsible for them.

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Love and the City

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What happens when our public behaviour is constantly monitored? Do we still hug, kiss, or allow ourselves to be vulnerable in public, does it stop us from being at our worst? In this episode, we talk to artist Noemi Iglesias Barrios and Guggenheim curator Noam Segal about surveillance systems in the public space and why we might want to 'measure' cities in terms of emotionality by training algorithms to search for signs of love on the streets.
Resources:
The Radicality of Love by Srećko Horvat
The Shadow (1981) by Sophie Calle
Noise by C. R. Sunstein, D. Kahneman, and O. Sibony
The Atlas of AI by Kate Crawford
Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin
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Labour in the Greenhouse: Reaping the Fruits of Automation

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Resources:

Seasonal Matters Rural Relations — Seasonal Neighbours
Ways of Being by James Bridle
Living Labour (documentary) by Renzo Sgolacchia
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States by Seth Holmes
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The Digital Deal Podcast - Computation, Improvisation, Narration

Transcript

Ana-Maria Carabelea: Welcome to The Digital Deal Podcast, the series where we talk about how new technologies reshape our democracies and how artists and critical thinkers can help us make sense of these changes. My name is Ana Carabelea, and today I'm joined by dmstfctn and Lawrence Lek.
dmstfctn is a London-based artist duo formed by Francesco Tacchini and Oliver Smith, working with audiovisual performance, games and video installation. Their work invest