Video Archive – The Conference by Media Evolution

BITOI – Fly, fly + Tubarao

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 17:04:58 GMT

BITOI stands for Bass is the original instrument. BITOI are exploring the boundaries of the voice and the electric bass. The band is made up of one electric bass player and three vocalists from Denmark and Sweden (Cassius Lambert, Alexandra Shabo, Lise Kroner, Anja Tietze Lahrmann). They are working with an extended electric bass neck to allow quartertones and the lyrics of tracks are based on phonetic pronunciations of bird sounds, leading to a unique sound that transcends borders. Some tracks feel mythical while others feel very contemporary.

Q&A – Michael Slaby

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 16:40:35 GMT

Q&A from the keynote session with Michael Slaby (Avens, Harmony Labs)

Johanna Koljonen – Opening Remarks

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 10:26:58 GMT

Returning moderator extraordinaire, Johanna Koljonen, opens The Conference 2023 and extends a warm welcome to the participants. She begins with a reflection on the personal financial situation that many of us have faced due to last year's economic turmoil. She states, "Working in this economy, we're facing a lot of pressure that we previously have not experienced," and connects environmental threats, financial anxiety, and the unease of social securities, all leading us to a state of prolonged worry.

However, Johanna acknowledges that even as a "constant worrier," there comes a point when there isn't enough time to worry. She continues, emphasizing that even if we reach a state of "compassion fatigue," we must never let it turn into "solidarity fatigue." We can just hope that these anxieties and fears remain unexploited by dark interests as she reminds us that even though we may need to put on our oxygen masks first in case of an emergency, we still have the power to act and help others. It is in times like these we need the practical work of change, which, in turn, is the practical work of hope. Perhaps you'll find something of it at The Conference.

Q&A - Enacting Care

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:33:46 GMT

Q&A from the session Enacting Care – Putting Sustainability Into Practice with Deb Chachra (Olin College), Becky Lyon (Artist) and Ledama Masidza (Oceans Alive)

Monika Bielskyte - Protopia vs TESCREAL Visions of Tech Rapture

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:33:13 GMT

In what kind of future would you like to live? Blade Runner or Black Panther?

For too long, our futures have been determined by immature science fiction imaginaries still stuck in the mid to late 20th century. Their utopian and dystopian binaries now provide fertile inspiration for police-state-aesthetic VC pitch decks and a cluster of ideologies known as TESCREAL: Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singularitarianism, Cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Longtermism. Moreover, many of these past narratives have not recognised the richness and diversity of knowledge, experiences and worldviews.

"Those who control the fantasy, control the future."

Monika Bielskyte identifies the cost of such grand visions, whose utopianism has historically had its roots in exclusionary and eugenic principles. For a more positive and productive way of seeing the future, Monika’s vision of Protopia is radically hopeful and inclusive. Protopia is grounded in plurality, interdependence, embodiment, biosphere regeneration, creative flourishment, spiritual fulfillment, and evolved values. By including the voices of those that have been purposefully previously erased, Protopia changes the nature of leadership and creates the possibility for interesting things to happen. Monika ends on a hopeful note:

“Different worlds have existed, and they could exist again”

Ledama Masidza – Weaving a Tapestry of Community for Ecological Care | The...

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:32:34 GMT

“We can only manage what we know.”

Ubuntu is a concept that embraces the interconnectedness between all living things. No one is independent of the fact that our existence is directly dependent on the care between human and nonhuman communities. Ledama shared a story of hope, the case of Kuruwitu, a fishing community in Kenya that managed to heal itself from impacts of overfishing, coral bleaching and climate change. They did this through collaborative care, and harnessing the collective intelligence of their community.

Ledama mentioned some key success factors that led to Kuruwitu healing the devastation of marine life they had experienced, one of which was knowing the community. Understanding who lives there, allowing everyone to contribute, and harnessing the knowledge of their shared environment. Opening a dialogue with marine ecology through ocean data as well as having a sensitive understanding of the incentive models of the human community in Kuruwitu created caring approaches for both. Holistic solutions require collective intelligence, which in turn requires multiple experiences to be heard.

Debbie Chachra – How Infrastructure Works

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:32:22 GMT

“Energy is general purpose freedom.”

“The earth is in a void, every atom has to come from some place, and go somewhere.“

Infrastructure might not be the first thing we think of when we hear the word “care”, but these systems are manifestations of how we ensure quality of life as a society. Debbie Chachra refers to a quote of Amartya Sen - “We want wealth not because it's desirable on its own, but because it gives freedom to actually do what gives life value.” In her talk Debbie pointed out that the wealth of a country can be measured by the amount of money put into infrastructure. In fact a satellite image of the earth in some ways reflects wealth simply by showing the amount of artificial light present. Debbie Chachra sees artificial light as pure agency as it allows us to do things we would otherwise not be able to do.

If we take it a step further, energy is a general purpose freedom as having access to it allows you to exist with ease in your day to day. The issue is that the main source for energy we have harnessed are fossil fuels bringing us in the state of climate crisis we find ourselves in today. The speaker invited us to take a look at our lovely planet as a place that gets an immense amount of energy from the sun every day and also a place that exists in a void. Meaning every atom has to come from some place, and go somewhere. Debbie Chachra asks us to rethink the idea of energy that is limited, and the ideas of material resources that are not. To create caring infrastructure futures we need to commit to decentralized infrastructure for regenerative energy and build careful relationships to material flows.

Becky Lyon – A Carrier Bag for Care-Full, and Co-flourishing Decision Making

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:31:01 GMT

“The master's house cannot be rebuilt with master's tools.“

“A physical shift with our bodies can shift how we think about a problem.”

In her talk, Becky Lyon reminded us that we need to get back to our bodies, in order to create a world where we can thrive. In the dominant European American system the body has been estranged in favor of the rational, the evidence-based and the narrow. It caused us to step outside of ourselves, placing the notion within us that nature is outside of ourselves. What Becky encourages us to do, is to return to the body. If we reintroduce the body to make the change that we want to see, it can return our intuition closer to our core selves. Perhaps this can alter the gated and guarded power structures that currently exist.

As a part of the toolkit for care that Becky presents, she encourages you to map the “enmessments”, meaning to map all the interconnections, flows and entanglements surrounding you. Understanding the complexity allows for more care-full decisions. The audience was at one point invited to act out an act of care, opening space for lightness, humor and laughter. Embracing joy and play brings us back to our bodies, and helps us enact care into our daily lives. Lastly, as Becky said, practice here is key, so go out and do it.

Timothée Parrique – How to Blow Up an Economy

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:30:49 GMT

When everyone else calls for economic growth, innovation, and addition, Timothée Parrique demands demolition, sabotage, and removal. Our strive towards infinite growth is not sustainable on a finite planet. So far, no economy in the world has managed to grow its economy without overshooting the planetary boundaries. That’s why we need an economic strategy based on subtractions, not additions. And we need to rethink the economy's purpose, as growth tells us nothing about prosperity and well-being. So, is de-growth the solution?

Timothée advocates for a planned, selective, and temporary downscaling of production and consumption. Mainly because the alternative, growth-obsessed capitalism, is a total collapse. And if you want to lose weight, you would want to diet gradually over time rather than chop off a leg, right? Let's come in like a wrecking ball and discuss how an economy can prosper without growth — because that is the ultimate innovation.

Dr. Eduardo Castello Ferrer – Blockchain, Robotics and Economic Autonomy

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:30:36 GMT

Have you ever met a self-employed autonomous robot artist? Introducing Gaka-chu ("painter" in Japanese), a 6-axis robot arm that creates artistic paintings of Japanese characters. While robots have historically been treated as labour, Gaka-chu explores the concept of claiming agency and economic autonomy using blockchain-based smart contracts.

So, can robots actually maintain themselves? And if so, what implications do these economically autonomous robots have? Eduardo argues that instead of treating robots like tools, they have the potential to become peers. At the same time, robots, like Gaka-chu, now have access to economic resources without being part of traditional business entities. Would you acquire a piece from Gaka-chu and hang it on your wall?

Jenny Grettve – Feminist Economies

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:29:32 GMT

With severe catastrophes happening around us constantly - ecologically, economically, as well as socially - we tend to feel hopeless. But hopelessness is for the privileged. Our fear makes us hold on to things we already know instead of pursuing new things. We feel lost and want to think that crisis happens elsewhere - climate change does not affect me or my loved ones. But it actually does: When climate injustice happens somewhere, it happens everywhere. And as human beings, we have to act on it.

For Jenny Grettve, the answer is kindness. Addressing problems caused by selfishness, like the climate crisis, calls for a philosophical and psychological approach. As human beings we need to be genuinely caring, always and everywhere, to create a supply chain of kindness. And we need to pursue a more feminist, matriarchy-based way of thinking in the economy. But how can we implement more kindness in our daily lives? And how can we pursue a more circular economy that is not based on hierarchies, domination, power, and wealth, but perceives everyone to be equally important? Let’s create the butterfly effect of kindness!

Cassie Robinson – Emerging Futures: Patterning the Third Horizon

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:28:46 GMT

Cassie Robinson
Associate Director of Emerging Future at Joseph Rowntree Foundation

“There’s always something growing and declining at the same time. I am ending and beginning at the same time.”

From external events such as the pandemic to the hyper speed development of AI and tech to the increasingly urgent climate crisis discourses, how do we navigate ourselves in the midst of all these life-changing events? Are all changes – particularly the ones that liken to the ending of a cycle – inevitably bad? How can we adapt accordingly and create pathways to what’s to come?

Using an array of frameworks, Associate Director of Emerging Futures and founder of Stewarding Loss, Cassie Robinson is of the belief that endings can be done better.

“The systemic transition is considering it as making good compost – composting improves soil, it provides nutrients, it stimulates the ecosystem, it builds up.”

Robinson’s frameworks aimed at the UK public sector and organisations like the NHS. But during the Q&A aspects relating to private companies also surface..The idea of hospicing endings might seem alien or unnecessary in profit-driven systems. But these rituals are natural part of our culture - from the personal to the organizational to the societal – and here Robinson expands on the work of e.g. Vanessa Reid.

Liselott Stenfeldt – The Senses of Belonging

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:24:41 GMT

“People don’t change behaviour just because you tell them too. People need innovation in a public space to change”

“Space and life goes together, and it's important to work with them together.”

“Wise cities are making the invisible visible” and the ways we can make it visible means listening and looking at a variety of different data sources. Liselott Stenfeldt is the head of research and development at Gehl, a company which has been playing a leading role in understanding and supporting public places as a platform for community, life and culture to thrive. The main theme in Gehl's approach is to pay attention to complex stories places in the city have to tell us.

Liselott pointed out that it is important to have a diversity of data sources and kinds of data we employ to understand how hot makes our cities more filled with life. It is important to look at traffic data we can get from satellites or sensors but it is also crucial to work with more emotional and subjective data of the people living in a place. Gehl has been developing different methods to incorporate both of these datasets in their work. In this talk Liselott Stenfeldt shows 3 use cases on how the invisible can be made visible by asking people to make pictures of urban spaces and describe their sense of belonging to them or to record the sound of daily life and the emotions connected. This type of data is not really easy to work with, but by combining it with other information it shows a bigger picture. It is even more significant if there is an opportunity to give a voice to people who usually are left out of how public spaces are designed. This provides a unique opportunity in making sure people can meet and spaces are filled with life.

Ling Tan – Why Participate?

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:23:48 GMT

“Work with people who disagree with you and with each other and still work together. This is where participation can begin.“

“Reflection to time and place is important to make people participate.”

How do we get people to participate in creating the cities that they want? And once we do, how do we get them to act towards a common goal? These are some of the questions that Ling Tan works with on a daily basis and addressed in her talk.

In order to create collective action, meaning getting people working towards one common goal, it’s crucial that you are sensitive to what participants will actually get from providing their time. Will their community gain any benefits? If so, which ones? Another key aspect is having participants feel agency and ownership over the issue that they are trying to overcome, and then being a part of the solution. They want to be able to see and understand what results their efforts are yielding, and for that to happen they need to understand the problem. Ling pointed out that there needs to be more sensitivity to what kind of communities we are including and how. For example the climate movement in the UK is not really focusing on addressing different cultures present in the country. In the talk we see an example how the climate conversation can be shifted to by showing the example of the project Low Carbon Chinatown.

To succeed in understanding how people in cities can contribute to creating the future Wise Cities, you need to embrace messiness. Go outside of your comfort zone, and meet people that are different from you, agree to disagree, and work with them anyway. This will broaden your understanding of not only the people who inhabit the city, but the issues that they are interested in solving.

Arnaud Grignard – Tangible Interfaces For Urban Spaces

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:23:36 GMT

“The goal is to share knowledge through open-sourced tools, and for people to use them as much as possible”

In his presentation, Arnaud Grignard shared some of the work he does with his team at the City Science group at the MIT Lab, specifically a tool called City Scope. The common thread for all examples was how this tool made it possible to use data visualisation to analyse patterns and potential outcomes when developing cities. By building physical representations of cities, and projecting data onto the city, it’s possible to visualise behaviours on a large scale, such as movements of people and vehicles, and alter them to analyse the effects. One of the shown examples was a project analysing the effects of air-quality on depending on the way people in a city commute, giving a clear visual and physical representation on what it entails to take the car, public transport or bikes.

City planning can be quite abstract and complex and open-source tools like City Scope can help make the abstract more concrete. It can contribute to the democratisation of these types of analytics, and can be used as a way to communicate otherwise often overwhelming and complicated data to new types of shareholders.

But the most important thing that was pointed out, was that since this type of modelling is an open-source tool it’s available for everyone, at any time. These types of tools are available to us, so we should be using them as much as we possibly could in the planning of our cities.

Q&A – Imagining Institutions

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:22:54 GMT

Q&A from the session Imagining Institutions – (Re)making the Pillars of a Liquid Society with Dan Lockton (TU Eindhoven) and Anne Kaun (Södertörn University)

Dan Lockton - Plural Imaginaries In an Age of Crises

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:22:08 GMT

How can we think about institutions differently? In a world of competing fictions, imaginaries are one our most potent resources. Dan Lockton wants to get imaginaries out of people's heads and into a shared space - to do things differently as a result. He has a few ideas about how to do so.

Metaphors are central to our imagination. They have the power to harm, to limit, but also to create. So, in the quest to reimagine institutions, Dan proposes the creation of new metaphors, and has created a toolkit to assist doing so. The prompts aren't guaranteed to provide the perfect answer, but the friction of unexpected combinations prompts us to think, reflect, and create new mental models for many of the issues we encounter in the world today. How could tree bark be a metaphor for our institutions? Or a lamppost, covered in fading A4 pages, their staples rusted from the rain? Other tools available to us include practices of visualisation, modelling, and creative foresight.

In the reimagining of institutions, Dan emphasises the importance of paying attention to whose voice is heard and whose is not, broadening the input, and ensuring that a wider conversation is had about what role our institutions play in our evolving world.

Anne Kaun – Automating Welfare: Interfaces and Backends of the Digital...

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:21:57 GMT

Reimagining public infrastructures and systems has the potential to enhance accessibility and usefulness for diverse groups within society. Instead of taking a starting point in creating digital tools (which is often the case), Anne Kaun suggests looking into the frictions that emerge in the use of digital platforms and infrastructures.

Anne stages a scene, drawn from her real-life research to exemplify marginal stories of problems with navigating digital platforms and services. Imagine a woman who struggles to submit additional information in a digital welfare service application. At the institution's service centre, she is instructed by the staff to click through the platform and follow the steps. Digital self-help, as they say.

“Even with digital tools, life will never be a smooth ride”

Stories and scenes like this, can show us discrepancies and imbalances of power, practices and opportunities. They are examples of situations when people are left out. Digital infrastructures have different functionalities and consequences for different people. The great intention of providing fully frictionless and smooth digital welfare services for everybody is simply not realistic as there will always be groups that will face inconveniences or limitations in using them. Instead of striving for a perfect solution that fits all, Anne suggests leveraging these frictions to collectively imagine a system that provides for diverse needs and capabilities.

Michael Slaby – On the Possibility of a Utopi-Yin Path Forward

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:20:50 GMT

What if the cracks in our social and civic institutions are not signs of collapse but the first signs of transformation? Let’s face it: We’ve been living in an overly masculine society focused on dominion, growth, labour as a source of dignity, achievement as our basis of meaning and productivity as our key to purpose. But it’s a tale as old as humankind — and one we’ve put on to ourselves as a survival mechanism. Now, it’s on us to stop being at odds with nature. It’s a role that no longer serves us as it keeps snapping back at us like a rubber band with anxiety and loneliness.

Michael Slaby explores Ursula K. Le Guin's path of Utopiyin and Utopiyang as a way out. A new balance requires us to choose more feminine wisdom and leadership for now. Better yet, if we forgive ourselves for our estrangement and move ourselves back into nature’s systems, we can embrace the world through a lens of openness and connectedness. And that’s what being human is all about — isn’t it?

Audrey Tang – Alignment Assemblies and Collective Intelligence

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:19:37 GMT

With the nuclear bombs detonating in 1945, Pandora’s box was unlocked. For Audrey Tang, Minister of Digital Affairs in Taiwan, Artificial Intelligence represents another box of Pandora that challenges us to think about how we can avoid the pitfalls for society and achieve collective global action. We as a society have a choice: Are we going to tumble into the abyss of abuse, manipulation, threat, cyber attacks, and deep fake, or are we going to embrace shared values, democracy, and global AI cooperation?

Global AI governance, as pursued and advocated for by Audrey Tang and Taiwan, builds on consensus and public participation in policy-making, recognizing the role of AI for good purposes. Alignment Assemblies, a pilot project of the Collective Intelligence Project, aims to sync technologies with societal values and wants to reduce the fear of AI through a participant-guided conversation about needs, preferences, hopes, and fears. In this aspect, open source and Alignment Assemblies are powerful catalysts for bolstering societal understanding. This is why Audrey Tang calls for all hands on deck to solve the Gordian Knot that is AI in order to free the future of it.

Q&A – Entangled Economies

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 17:50:06 GMT

Q&A from the session Entangled Economies - Creating Value with Generosity and Interdependence with Jenny Grettve (Anon, When!When!), Timothee Parrique (Lund University), Eduardo Castello Ferrer (MIT).

Q&A – Wise Cities

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 17:41:06 GMT

Q&A from the session Wise Cities – Architecting Vibrant Connectivity with Liselott Stenfeldt (Gehl), Ling Tan (Kakilang,Umbrellium), Arnaud Grignard (Université de Lyon / MIT Media Lab).