Taking heed of current developments in digital technologies, the third medienwerk.nrw conference “Cold bodies, warm machines “ poses the question of the relationship between man and technology anew. Affective computing, networked daily life, utopias of the cybernetisation of the human body, and research trends in artificial intelligence all provide a reason to once again do so. What borders and boundaries are gradually shifting now between the realm of the living and the realm of the artificial? What happens when we develop ever more sensitive machines which are meant to detect and "understand" our affects and emotional responses while at the same time our own biological bodies are increasingly regarded as optimizable and programmable resources?

Some of these phenomena are investigated in lectures, talks, artistic contributions and a film programme. The conference takes an interdisciplinary approach bringing scientists, artists and citizens together, in order to proactively accompany the societal changes that are currently taking place, and to engage in three days of concentrated futurology by means of art and reciprocal exchange.

Opening, September 9th, 7:30 p.m.

Keynotes: Erich Hörl, Andreas Broeckmann and Robert Ochshorn amongst others. The conference is accompanied by a film programme curated by Tasja Langenbach (Videonale, Bonn) 

Free admission to the conference and the film programme.

A detailed conference programme can be found at www.medienwerk-nrw.de.