While climate change seems to be intangible, nowhere and everywhere at the same time, it is entangled with everything and everyone. Against this backdrop, the Berliner Gazette’s 20th anniversary initiative MORE WORLD stimulates a critical dialogue. The goal is to better understand and grasp the causes of climate change through entanglements of ecosystems with communal, state and global structures – and ultimately to explore possibilities to tackle climate change from within such interconnections: If not only the devastations of climate change arise from a planetary web of interdependencies, but potentially also capacities to collectively counter global warming, then how can we progress from passive entanglement to active entanglement? Meaning, how can we progress from the everything-and-everyone-is-connected-condition as one which tends to paralyze us to a state of interconnectedness that enables new forms of cross-border cooperation? And how can we cultivate cooperative practices for the interplay between communal, state and global approaches adapting to climate change? The Berliner Gazette conference explored these questions in the context of performances, lectures and workshops. More here: https://more-world.berlinergazette.de

MORE WORLD Audio Project Counter Knowledge Workshop by Berliner Gazette

Sound & Silence - A collective experience from the Counter Knowledge Workshop at MORE WORLD - The Berliner Gazette's 20th Anniversary Conference in 2019

EN / Do self-learning algorithms have their own agenda for a better world? At the BG conference “Ambient Revolts” two speakers looked for answers: Dia Kayyali (US) works on tools and policies that help human rights advocates safely, securely and ethically document human rights abuses and expose them to the world. Currently they focus on abuses in AI-based content moderation in social media. Tanja Sihvonen (Finland) researches digital media, computer games as well as participatory cultures on the internet. Her current work on AI and algorithmic agency in social media raises critical issues of gender bias and ethics. Moderated by Berlin-based political consultant and net activist Sandra Mamitzsch, this talk a general introduction to the political dimensions of AI in social media and put the hidden agenda of AI up for debate. “I am the broccoli that the companies and authorities have to eat!”, Dia Kayyali pointed out, referring to the work their organization does when reminding governments and tech companies of the consequences their technologies might have for human rights. The recording of the panel was made on November 8, 2018 at the ZK/U and can be listened to by pressing the play button above.

DE / Haben selbstlernende Algorithmen eine eigene Agenda für eine bessere Welt? Auf der BG-Konferenz "Ambient Revolts" suchten zwei Referenten nach Antworten: Dia Kayyali (USA) arbeitet an Tools und Strategien, die Menschenrechtsverteidigern helfen, Menschenrechtsverletzungen sicher und ethisch vertretbar zu dokumentieren und der Weltöffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. Derzeit konzentrieren sie sich auf Missstände bei der KI-basierten Moderation von Inhalten in sozialen Medien. Tanja Sihvonen (Finnland) erforscht digitale Medien, Computerspiele sowie partizipative Kulturen im Internet. Ihre aktuelle Arbeit zu KI und algorithmischer Steuerung in sozialen Medien wirft kritische Fragen zu Gender Bias und Ethik auf. Moderiert von der Berliner Politikberaterin und Netzaktivistin Sandra Mamitzsch, gibt dieser Vortrag eine allgemeine Einführung in die politischen Dimensionen von KI in sozialen Medien und stellt die versteckte Agenda von KI zur Debatte. "Ich bin der Brokkoli, den die Unternehmen und Behörden essen müssen", betonte Dia Kayyali und bezog sich dabei auf die Arbeit ihrer Organisation, die Regierungen und Technologieunternehmen auf die möglichen Folgen ihrer Technologien für die Menschenrechte hinweist. Die Aufzeichnung der Podiumsdiskussion wurde am 8. November 2018 im ZK/U aufgenommen und kann durch Drücken der Play-Taste oben angehört werden.

EN / The AI-driven world is supposedly getting ever more intelligent – but intelligent for whom? At the BG conference “Ambient Revolts” two artists looked for answers: Kim Yong Hun (Seoul) of the art collective Shinseungback Kimyonghun who created the “Animal Classifier” – an AI trained to divide animals into arbitrary classifications to foreground the imperfections in algorithmic classification systems. Dzina Zhuk (Moscow) who with Nicolay Spesivtsev (Belarus) is co-founder of the art group EEEFFF, contextualises digital city infrastructure in the context of complex and semi-autonomous AI systems. Moderated by L.A.-based journalist Claudia Núñez, this talk explored artistic strategies in a techno-social environment of runaway bots, AI bias, and digital trash. “We trained our own AI to classify animals, showing the absurd sides of machine learning,” Kim Yong Hun explained at the second public talk. Dzina Zhuk in turn took another approach to Artificial Intelligence and machine learning: unboxing the “smart” infrastructure of her hometown Moscow, showing just how little we know about the machines that co-create our daily lives, our relationships, etc. The recording of the panel was made on November 9, 2018 at the ZK/U and can be listened to by pressing the play button above.

DE / Die KI-gesteuerte Welt wird angeblich immer intelligenter - aber intelligent für wen? Auf der BG-Konferenz "Ambient Revolts" suchten zwei Künstler nach Antworten: Kim Yong Hun (Seoul) vom Kunstkollektiv Shinseungback Kimyonghun, der den "Animal Classifier" schuf - eine KI, die darauf trainiert ist, Tiere in beliebige Klassifizierungen einzuteilen, um die Unzulänglichkeiten algorithmischer Klassifizierungssysteme zu verdeutlichen. Dzina Zhuk (Moskau), die zusammen mit Nicolay Spesivtsev (Weißrussland) Mitbegründerin der Kunstgruppe EEEFFF ist, kontextualisiert die digitale städtische Infrastruktur im Zusammenhang mit komplexen und halbautonomen KI-Systemen. Unter der Moderation der in L.A. lebenden Journalistin Claudia Núñez wurden künstlerische Strategien in einem techno-sozialen Umfeld von unkontrollierten Bots, KI-Vorurteilen und digitalem Müll untersucht. "Wir haben unsere eigene KI darauf trainiert, Tiere zu klassifizieren, um die absurden Seiten des maschinellen Lernens zu zeigen", erklärte Kim Yong Hun beim zweiten öffentlichen Vortrag. Dzina Zhuk wiederum wählte einen anderen Ansatz für Künstliche Intelligenz und maschinelles Lernen: Sie nahm die "intelligente" Infrastruktur ihrer Heimatstadt Moskau auseinander und zeigte, wie wenig wir über die Maschinen wissen, die unser tägliches Leben, unsere Beziehungen usw. mitgestalten. Die Aufzeichnung des Panels wurde am 9. November 2018 im ZK/U aufgezeichnet und kann durch Drücken des Play-Buttons oben angehört werden.

The growing interconnectedness of everyone and everything is transforming our world into an unprecedented techno-social environment. The boundaries between atmosphere and politics are being suspended; already, tiny ruptures can cause cascade-like repercussions – think of cyber-attacks or stock market crashes, right-wing resentment or hashtag-based protest. Such ambient revolts are increasingly driven by artificial intelligence (AI) – involving human interaction but seemingly beyond human oversight. Set against this backdrop, the conference poses the questions: What are the techno-social logics of both regressive and repressive tendencies? What are emancipatory movements up against? What potential do micro-political acts have in day-to-day life? What regulations of automated systems at the macro level will enable democracy to emerge in the age of AI? The Berliner Gazette conference explored these questions in the context of performances, lectures and workshops. More here: https://ambient-revolts.berlinergazette.de/

A group of hackers is disrupting our daily lives. In bringing down the cellular networks for hours randomly across the city they are creating an Involuntary community for all of us. By taking away some of our most commonly used digital tools like map apps , phone contacts and social media connections we have to look to those around us and learn how to communicate directly again. As more cities begin to experience this phenomenon, chaos slowly turns into community, and inhabitants report a growing sense connection to other parts of the world by walking their familiar, local streets that have now been imprinted with the the names of another city. As time goes on, we are re-entering social spaces long forgotten. The unknown hacker group can be seen as a group with neo-luddistic ideals, but the ability for strangers to form communities gives hope in the darkest of times.

A group of hackers is disrupting our daily lives. In bringing down the cellular networks for hours randomly across the city they are creating an Involuntary community for all of us. By taking away some of our most commonly used digital tools like map apps , phone contacts and social media connections we have to look to those around us and learn how to communicate directly again. As more cities begin to experience this phenomenon, chaos slowly turns into community, and inhabitants report a growing sense connection to other parts of the world by walking their familiar, local streets that have now been imprinted with the the names of another city. As time goes on, we are re-entering social spaces long forgotten. The unknown hacker group can be seen as a group with neo-luddistic ideals, but the ability for strangers to form communities gives hope in the darkest of times.

What does it man for any person to become a citizen, today? What does it mean for citizens and non-citizens alike to become political actors in fields of dissent? The FRIENDLY FIRE conference looked for answers. Together with the ZK/U the Berliner Gazette (BG) hosted researchers, activists, coders and journalists from more than 25 countries. They embarked upon fruitful debates and productive cooperation. All results and more info are on this website: berlinergazette.de/friendly-fire

What does it man for any person to become a citizen, today? What does it mean for citizens and non-citizens alike to become political actors in fields of dissent? The FRIENDLY FIRE conference looked for answers. Together with the ZK/U the Berliner Gazette (BG) hosted researchers, activists, coders and journalists from more than 25 countries. They embarked upon fruitful debates and productive cooperation. All results and more info are on this website: berlinergazette.de/friendly-fire