David McConville is co-founder of Spherical, an integrative research and design studio offering cosmovision remediation and ontological repair services. With Dr. Bruce Clarke, Spherical developed the Gaian Systems research project to examine intersections between machine cognition, media arts, and Earth systems science. This resulted in a curatorial collaboration with Gray Area on the 2019 Experiential Space Research Lab, for which twelve artists explored the theme of Reworlding: The Art of Living Systems and produced The End of You exhibition weeks before the global lockdown. David has a PhD in Art and Media from the Planetary Collegium at the University of Plymouth.

Chris Giang (exteeng) is a multimedia artist, DJ, and data scientist based in Oakland, CA. Her sonic practice explores the tenderness embedded in the terrain of the ordinary, infusing it with a spirit of experimentation and deconstruction. By fragmenting and reassembling pop culture, she reshapes the familiar into something deeply personal—an expression of the heart. Her live sets form part of a larger sensory practice that intertwines tea, flowers, incense, and handmade ceramics, culminating in immersive tea ceremonies presented at exhibitions and in collaboration with other artists.Chris is a resident artist and event producer at B4BEL4B, and a ...

Sandro Pasquali (New York City, New York) is a creative technologist, author, inventor, and Head of Engineering at Bulldog & Fisk, where he builds bespoke AI-driven software solutions for mid-market clients. For this project he is training a Large Language Model on the work of Marshall McLuhan, along with media objects from 1964. This model, when dialoged with, responds as Marshall McLuhan might have in that year — both textually and visually. Raising McLuhan allows him to explore the full extent and pinnacle of retrospective synthesis generative AI might achieve. Can LLMs help us resurrect lost minds and empower them with ...

Freyja van den Boom (Singapore) is a transdisciplinary academic and beyond-human rights activist who uses arts, speculative (legal) design, and futures & foresight to provoke discussions on governing emerging technologies. Fascinated by human-AI interactions, she co-founded the first EU political party advocating for robot rights in 2014, urging the public to stand up for equal rights for robots and their representation in politics. The ROBOTPARTY aimed to ensure policymakers considered the interests of robots in digital innovation regulations. However, we were wrong, people continue to exploit at AI for political and personal gains which causes harm and injustice to people, ...

karen darricades (Toronto, Ontario) is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, host of the #WeMakeMedia podcast and head of Arts and Culture for Creative Commons Canada. This project is an opportunity for her to learn about while contributing to understandings of what artificial intelligence CAN and CANNOT be, and the very nature of being. Raising McLuhan is an extension of her work's explorations of power, access and non-human intelligence as they relate to collective consciousness, sentiences, and the social climate of hype and fear surrounding emerging tech. karen will talk about how this project relates to her new media and literacy education ...