Behind the Screen: Implications of Database Construction

11.10-12.00: N. Katherine Hayles (Durham, NC, USA)

Abstract: While “Beyond the Screen” evokes a post-GUI environment in which mobile devices, mixed reality environments and pervasive computing escape from the desktop to run in the wild, the databases that store, execute, and transmit information will remain as crucial as ever. This talk will explore the implications of structured environments such as relational databases versus unstructured data searched through such engines as the Google algorithms. The emphasis will be both on artistic uses of database structures and on the political, social, and artistic problematics of unstructured data.