In the 1960s, Prof. Joseph Weizenbaum of MIT developed a computer program he called ELIZA. A simple chat routine that allowed people to engage in a typed conversation. Before long, the professor noticed some extraordinary reactions to ELIZA: users were pouring their hearts out on the screen. The simple chat robot turned out to meet a deep-seated human need.
More Podcasts
So Posthuman (2): Capsules: the ‘bubbles’ of the Sixties
In what is also known as ‘the Inflatable Era’, inflatable architecture was manufactured as a prerequisite for a new, nomadic way of life. Space travel served as the inspiration for these capsules. However, are these high-tech hide-outs post-human or not?
So Posthuman (1): Open your eyes
Posthuman; once your eyes are opened to it you see it everywhere. But what is it? In this recurring series, curator Fredric Baas explains. In the first column, Baas focuses on the changing human body, something Austrian designers were already investigating in the 1960s.
Spotlight: Facial Weaponization Suite by Zach Blas
The ‘Facial Weaponization Suite’ by the American activist and artist Zach Blas is a protest against biometric facial recognition in security cameras. He circumvents this technology, while at the same time exposing the inequalities perpetuated by surveillance of this kind.
What is it like to be posthuman? (part 1)
Fredric Baas, curator of BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future, spent two years researching the ‘posthuman’ theme. He shares the fruits of that research in this series of articles.
Hugged by a machine
Could a machine ever satisfy our need for a hug? The designer Bart Hess talks in this video about Lucy McRae’s work Future Day Spa.
BodyDrift part 1: Better Bodies
The works shown in the part ‘Better Bodies’ of the exhibition share a fundamental belief in the human body. The body is extended, embellished, defended or armed, ready to face the future.
Our seven favourite posthuman novels
These seven novels, which touch on the themes raised by the exhibition BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future, were chosen as favourites by our museum staff.
Spotlight: Neri Oxman’s Vespers
The exhibition BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future includes two death masks by Neri Oxman. Part of her Vespers series, they refer to a centuries-old tradition of death masks, but are 3D-printed and based on specially developed algorithms inspired by structures from nature.
BodyDrift part 2: The Biometric Body
The body is becoming increasingly analysed and digitized, with and without our knowledge, steadily blurring the boundary between the private and public sphere. Explore ‘The Biometric Body’ in the exhibition BodyDrift – Anatomies of the Future.
BodyDrift part 3: Beyond the Body
The works in the part ‘Beyond The Body’ of the exhibition BodyDrift have left the human body behind. They show how manipulable we have become both physically and mentally, and ask us to consider how much ‘self’ we still retain.
Unconditional love for artificial intelligence
From Invisibilia – our favourite podcast. What happens when you give artificial intelligence your unconditional love?
Couturier without clothes
Research assistant Moyra Besjes talks here about The Fabricant – a digital couturier whose collections have never seen a needle, thread or fabric. The materials used to make these designs are algorithms.
My phone is my psychologist
Paul suffers from anxiety attacks. But rather than going to a psychologist, he decided to write a computer program to solve his problem.
Lockdown sex and VR porn
Sales of sex toys rose 94% during the Covid crisis and the development of Virtual Reality porn has also shifted up a gear. What role might virtual and digital sex play in a physical world?
Is immortality the ultimate goal?
Why are people so obsessed with the idea of immortality? Meet the transhumanists who are convinced that a cure for ageing is within reach and that within a few decades, we’ll no longer face death
Our Computers, Our Selves
Interviews with cyborgs, cyberbullies, neuroscientists and a police chief, who reflect on whether computers are changing us as human beings.
Love, sex and robots
Podcast on the steadily shrinking divide between human and machine. What is the potential for a deep, intense relationship with artificial lovers?
