Wolfie Christl (Cracked Labs)
Debunking the Tech-bro AI Cult
Accompanying Programme for JUSTITIA! Data Ghosts
The workshop aims to be nothing less than a crash course in everything artists and cultural practitioners need to know about this strange thing called ‘artificial intelligence’. What is it, where does it come from, and will it take over the world - or is it all fake? Who is in control, what are the real risks, and what about energy consumption, ‘ghost work’, privatization of cultural knowledge, and Silicon Valley tech fascism? We want to discuss how we can engage or play with ‘AI’ in artistic practice without feeding the industry hype. Or are the new Luddites* right, and refusal/resistance is the way to go?
Wolfie Christl is a public-interest technologist, researcher, educator, and writer with a background in sociology and media art based in Vienna, Austria. Until 2006, he was part of Public Netbase, a digital art platform and early hackerspace in Vienna. His recent work focuses on consumer surveillance, algorithmic control, platform power, and the datafication of work. He has published several comprehensive reports on digital tracking, the commercial misuse of consumer data, and worker monitoring. His research has been taken up by policymakers across the world and has contributed to the filing of GDPR complaints and lawsuits against unlawful data practices. Christl and his projects have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and many other media outlets. wolfie.crackedlabs.org
*Luddite, member of the organized bands of 19th-century English handicraftsmen who rioted for the destruction of the textile machinery that was displacing them. (Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Luddite)
Credits
The accompanying programme was curated and organized by the students of Gin Müller's Case Studies (Critical Studies) course at the Academy of Fine Arts: Abilaschan Balamurlaey, Luan Dannerbauer David Gees, Natalia Philomena Jobe, Sebastian Kokesch, Hanna Kucera, Martina Lajczak, Yuliana Mosheeva, So Young Park, Carlotta Partzsch, Lisa Schmidt, Adrien Summerer, Philip Finsterbusch, Stefan Pfattner Helena McFadzean, Jiachen Xu, Ema Bencikova, Iris Omari
Dates & Tickets
January 2025
Fully booked / Pay as you can on site
brut nordwest
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
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brut all over Vienna
brut nordwest
accessible
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern), U4 (Friedensbrücke), U6 (Dresdnerstraße) Tram: 5 (Nordwestbahnstraße) Bus: 5A (Wasnergasse)
studio brut
not accessible
Zieglergasse 25, 1070 Wien
Subway: U3 (Zieglergasse), Tram: 49 (Westbahnstraße / Zieglergasse)
brut at Exhibit Eschenbachgasse
accessible
Eschenbachgasse 11 / Ecke Getreidemarkt, 1010 Vienna
U-Bahn: U4, U1 (Karlsplatz), Tram: 1, 2, D, 71 (Burgring), Bus: 57A (Getreidemarkt)