Humans have an enduring fascination with talking to machines – from ELIZA, the computer program built in the 1960s to mimic a psychotherapist, to Google’s latest AI assistant, which can book you a hairdressing appointment over the phone. Beyond passing the Turing Test, can algorithms communicate?
Host Oscar Schwartz has long been fascinated by the cultural trope and technological possibility of machines replacing humans (Humans Pretending to be Computers Pretending to be Humans, 2016). Harriet Gillies directed Lifestyle of the Richard and Family (NEXT WAVE, 2018) in collaboration with SwiftKey predictive text technology. In conversation, these artists will explore the pitfalls and possibilities of dialogue generated by machines, and what it means to speak with machines beyond binary.
Check out the full DWF18 podcast program here: 2018.digitalwritersfestival.com/stream/listen/
Download a copy of the transcript here: http://2018.digitalwritersfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Transcript_Coded-Speech.docx