Monash University's Culture Media Economy (CME) research hub and Liquid Architecture present Automated Culture Symposium, followed by the launch of Eavesdropping: A Reader, edited by James Parker and Joel Stern.

Our culture is increasingly shaped by automation: from the feedback loops that determine what we read, listen to, and watch, to new forms of automated media production (an AI signed by Warner Records to produce mood music; Netflix’s use of data to assemble production teams; music being crafted to work on Spotify; and so on). Automated systems thus had a role to play in:

• Cultural production (the spectrum here is broad: AIs write ad copy and create paintings)
• Cultural distribution and sharing (increasingly scarcity is replaced by curation — perhaps curation is the "new" scarcity)
• Cultural consumption (interesting intimations of interpassivity here: a barrage of new apps that read for us — and perhaps one day listen and look for us)

The goal of this program is to bring together theorists, artists, and critics to explore the role played by automation in shaping our cultural world. The premise is that we need to address these questions of cultural transformation at scale: not simply highlighting novel developments, but by thinking about their interconnections: about the cultural logic of automation. The goal is not necessarily to address this big picture question directly — but to bring together a range of projects and research from which aspects of it might emerge. The longer term hope is to strengthen networks of thinkers and creators who are interested in approaching this question from a range of perspectives.

10am–7pm
Automated Culture Symposium
Featuring performances by Roslyn Helper, Sean Dockray and Tom Smith.

7.30–9.00pm
Eavesdropping: A Reader Book Launch
With James Parker of Melbourne Law School and Joel Stern of Liquid Architecture

Free, all welcome.
Bookings and full program.