CULTUS and AI Religiosity, Zach Blas Lunchtime Talk
Assistant Prof Zach Blas (University of Toronto)
Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed
Zach Blas will discuss his newest work CULTUS, an immersive moving image installation that addresses a burgeoning AI religiosity in the Californian tech industry, considering the ways in which artificial intelligence is imbued with god-like powers and marshaled to serve beliefs centered around judgment and transcendence, extraction and immortality, pleasure and punishment, individual freedom and cult devotion.
CULTUS manifests as a techno-religious computational device –a god generator, a holy engine –that invokes a pantheon of AI gods, whose prophets share their divine teachings, rituals, and symbologies. Blas will consider the sociopolitical conditions that drive the research and conceptual framework of CULTUS, and he will also present the ways in which AI and machine learning were creatively and critically utilized to invoke AI gods.
Join the Pervasive Media Studio online on YouTube Live, or book your in person tickets for the talk and to take part in the Q and A discussion afterwards at the Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed.
Zach Blas is an artist, filmmaker, and writer whose practice spans moving image, computation, theory, performance, and science fiction. Currently an Assistant Professor of Visual Studies at the University of Toronto, Blas has exhibited, lectured, and held screenings at venues internationally, including Tate Modern, Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, Whitechapel Gallery and ZKM Center for Art and Media. Notable works include Facial Weaponization Suite (2012-14) which consists of amorphous masks that demand opacity against biometric facial recognition systems.
