Feelings Inc. Symposium Day 2

Privacy Salon

Feelings Inc. delves into the delicate interplay of vulnerability and connection in online matchmaking and beyond.

Huidenclub

SYMPOSIUM DAY 2Artistic practice has always reflected the times, and as technology advances, so does the art inspired by it. Throughout history, artists have used the latest technological innovations to create new ideas and push the boundaries of creative expression. In today's ever-changing digital landscape, the boundaries between technology, art, research and even laws and regulations continue to blur. This inspires innovative protagonists to explore the unknown territory where these domains intersect. The Feelings Inc. symposia thrive on 4 main themes, each addressing a specific focus within recent developments in technology and vulnerability: Dating Apps, AI Companions, Platform Blues, Human-Machine Intimacy <h4>14 February 10:00 - 19:00</h4>Pelgrimsstraat 5c, 3029 BH Rotterdam, NL

Agenda

This keynote will address the role of Ad Tech (advertising technology)—the primary business model of the Internet—in expanding the capabilities of contemporary warfare, reinforcing a co-dependency that silently (yet incisively) blurs the boundaries between the military and the civilian sectors, posing significant threats to democratic processes by benefiting totalitarian modes of operating at a global scale.  

The talk will also discuss how the increasing militarization of digital space leverages the human body to advance the agendas of both capital and the military-industrial security complex, known as neoliberal militarism. These ideologies are subtly inscribed in the body through seemingly mundane actions like clicking and scrolling, turning the body into a site of militarization that enhances data extraction and social control, ultimately perpetuating the ideological and economic objectives of military neoliberalism.  


Cookies at War 

In her keynote she will discuss what dating apps look like for heterosexual people, what this means for vulnerability and how this is different for men and women. And, if you dare, she will invite you to experience how dating apps operate, in person.   

What dating apps taught me about vulnerability, intimacy and (algorithmic)love

Our Cold Loves

In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the privacy implications of using dating apps like Tinder and Her by analyzing their personal data. Using free and open-access tools from the DigiPower Academy, attendees will gain hands-on experience in retrieving, examining, and interpreting the data these platforms collect about them.

Dating Privacy workshop 

Modern matchmaking platforms don’t just facilitate romance, they dictate the rules of engagement. In this talk, playful media artist and game designer Leon van Oldenborgh dissects dating apps through the lens of game design, revealing how their mechanics shape behavior, privacy, and digital intimacy. Alongside this analysis, he presents two of his interactive art pieces that repurpose these mechanics for artistic exploration: CONNECT, which reimagines public Wi-Fi as a matchmaking tool, and clickedy.click, a platform where clicking behavior becomes a vehicle for attraction.

Dissecting and Designing Matchmaking Platforms with Ulterior Motives

What are the mechanics that match love with profit? The endless scroll may be a very deliberate choice for one app, while another needs limited scrolling to retain users. There is a range of strategies by which our desire for love can be commodified. But who has what agency in this matching machine? Users might want to know what happens with all the sensitive information that they are willing to spill in their quest for a match. Being aware of the actual privacy violations can empower the user to play differently. Seducing the algorithm may bring us closer to winning the game.

Panel: Gamification of Love: User vs Player

Moderated by Liesel Sharabi. Humans crave intimacy, and dating apps are meeting this demand by using algorithms and automation to facilitate relationships. This panel will explore the ways that dating apps are automating our love lives, from personalized recommendation systems to the Al dating concierges and virtual companions of the future. We will discuss the concerns this raises (e.g., about privacy and convenience) as well as ways that automation might enhance our connections. What do we gain and what is at stake when we trust our hearts, minds, and data to platforms - and the corporate interests that govern

Panel: Love on Demand: Algorithms and Automation on Dating Apps

Gather 'round lovers and players near and far for a lecture performance taking place inside a video game inspired by black holes and quantum cosmology. Small Void, a WIP collaborative video game by the artist/writer Alice Bucknell and the artist/game developer Jonathan Coryn, was born from Bucknell's research residency at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in autumn 2024. Featuring a storyline developed in collaboration with CERN's resident physicists, the two player cooperative game explores cosmic metaphors for queer love stories, the impossible project SMALL VOID is also a queer dating sim about the frictions and expansions of identity that love induces, pining at a distance, failures of communication, and the ways a world, as an active agent or player, transtorms all beings who move through it. The game is developed in collaboration with the Paris-based video game designer Jonathan Coryn and features sonic contributions from the Zurich-based composer Madga Drozd.

Agents of heartbreak: black holes and bad game feel 

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Feelings Inc. Symposium Day 2

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