This lecture provides an overview of dmstfctn’s artistic practice, focusing on their exploration of opaque systems of power through a mix of performance, installation, video games, and film. By blending these multimedia forms, dmstfctn invites audiences to engage in the “demystification” of these systems through replication and re-enactment, and in their “remystification” by constructing new worlds, characters, and myths upon them. As part of this lecture, dmstfctn will be joined by Athens-based musician and vocalist Evita Manji to talk about their recent collaborative performance work, focused on the folklore of cheating AIs. The lecture will also unpack previous video game and performance works by dmstfctn, delving into themes of AI alignment and misalignment, and the representation and faciality of machine intelligence.
October 14, 6.30pm Aula Magna, John Cabot University