All around us talk about crisis, catastrophe, dramatic change, unavoidable tipping points is rampant. Our everyday experiences are steeped in images of slow upheaval and our collective narratives seem to either turn back to moments of great promise or look in dismay at the present, that is, at a world on the brinks of mass extinction. This was also the context into which GenAI emerged and quickly took hold. While for decades AI in different guises has been an integral part of our imaginaries, whether through Sci-fi writing or through speculations about the future, Generative AI has entered popular use at a moment of particular instability.

In this two-day symposium we want to interrogate the intersection of futures and AI (both before and after GenAI took the world by storm) by exploring its entangled histories and the contours of its present. We want to imagine together possible futures while also questioning both its different pasts and the futures that are being brought into being through popularly circulating narratives, dooms-day scenarios and popular and scientific texts. We are interested in considering not only what GenAI can do but also what futures and possibilities are displaced and resisted through its common use and the discourse (or maybe hype) that is developing around it. Our aim is to open-up a conversation and think playfully together at a moment that can best be described as a critical present.  

Throughout this symposium we will ask broad questions like: What patterns can be discerned in our thinking about and tinkering with LLMs? Where might we locate a plausible (and stable?) ethical position in relation to these rapidly changing technologies and our uses of them? How might the histories of AI help us make sense of our present or even imagine other kinds of futures? And how are the ways in which we talk about GenAI and the future shaping our political and social worlds?

Structure

The first day of the symposium will feature several 45 min. lectures of experts in the field. We hope that these talks will generate conversation, raise more questions than answers and push us to find the edges of our current thinking about both futures and AI.

Themes for the first day

AI and Ethics 
AI and Patterns 
AI and Histories 
AI and Politics 
Evening talk/Performance 

The second day will be devoted to discussions, working through ideas for potential projects and sparring to generate innovative collaborative possibilities.

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Free of charge. All are welcome, but registration is necessary. 
Please note that specific time, location and the overall programme may be subject to change.