21-23 SEPT BUBBLE VISIONS Stolen from Hito Steyerl’s lecture of the same name, the idea of Bubble Vision is born out of immersive technologies like 360° videos and virtual reality—spherical views. These technologies are based on a strange paradox where, according to Steyerl, “the viewer is at the centre of a sphere, yet at the same time he/she is missing. They are fully immersed in something they are not part of. Not only your head, but also your hands and feet are invisible – a blind spot in the centre.” Bubble vision acts as a crystal ball that predicts a future state where you are missing—as Steyerl notes, “to be eliminated means to be automated. And conversely to be automated means to be eliminated” But when we look at the crystal ball do we see more than a data ‘selfie’? This spherical vision connects to the ‘filter bubbles’ on social media, which envelop us in their parallel information universes. Can we look beyond our own bubbles, beyond their coherent narratives, towards the places we avoid out of fear, unwillingness, or
difference of ideology. Can we look beyond the bubble(s) to a possible future in which technology and people increasingly cooperate and merge. Bubbles consist of specific (views on) parts of information. At the same time, information is increasingly liquid—continuously changing content, sender, and shape. This interchangeability of form generates power and an immense speed of circulation, creating an uncontrollable, ungraspable, and ever-growing beast—a beast that is fed by the feedback loops of algorithmic systems and human input. Bubbles consist of specific (views on) parts of information. At the same time, information is increasingly liquid—continuously changing content, sender, and shape. This interchangeability of form generates power and an immense speed of circulation, creating an uncontrollable, ungraspable, and ever-growing beast—a beast that is fed by the
THE GREY SPACE