Overclocking of The Human Computer

Sydney Skybetter sits down with performance historian Doug Eacho to discuss emergent technologies of the last century. They explore how sci-fi has influenced our expectations for the future of performance, and why these expectations almost never become reality.

About Doug:

Douglas Eacho is a performance historian and theater director. His current research project concerns artists and engineers who have sought to automate theatrical processes, from French surrealists, to lighting board designers, to contemporary makers of algorithmic dance. He explores the increasing integration between automaticity and theatricality on and off the stage, and the shifting ways technology performs amidst conditions of economic stagnation. Another research thread concerns the long history of statistical representation as it has intersected with naturalist and aleatory performance; this work informed his article “Serial Nostalgia: Rimini Protokoll’s 100% City and the Numbers We No Longer Are” (Theatre Research International, 2018). His reviews have been published in Theatre Survey, Theatre Journal, and Theatre and Performance Design. Before his doctoral studies, his found-text performances were presented around New York City, including at the Invisible Dog, Judson Memorial Church, and the Center for Performance Research. “His Fear of a Lonely Planet,” a piece about tourism, was devised with Stanford University students in 2018.

Read the transcript, and find more resources in our archive: https://www.are.na/choreographicinterfaces/dwr-ep-8-overclocking-of-the-human-computer

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What We Discuss with Doug (Timestamps):  0:00:04: Intro to Doug Eacho and his expertise in performance history & technology 0:00:29: Discussion on the portrayal of AI in the media 0:01:52: Exploring the intersection of performance & technology throughout history 0:04:17: Defining performance and technology in relation to art 0:07:38: Analyzing the connection between acting and the portrayal of robots 0:09:15: Discussion on the sexist trope in Blade Runner 0:11:05: Mention of a deleted Salome dance scene in Blade Runner 0:13:08: Interpretation of science fiction as art about the present 0:14:12: Conclusion on the nature of science fiction as predictions of the future 0:16:33: Balancing the future and the present as a parent 0:18:05: The misconception of AI appearing out of nowhere 0:19:40: The history of technology and overestimating its capabilities 0:22:23: The impact of technology on labor and jobs 0:23:55: The narrative of creating better worlds through technology 0:25:23: The promises of digital technology in a capitalist society 0:26:12: Artists creating critical work on technology and inequality 0:27:39: Algorithmic dance and the work of Liz Santoro and Pierre Gaudar 0:30:53: Overclocking the human computer 0:33:37: Illusion of power in using AI systems 0:34:06: Show credits & thanks

The Dances with Robots Team Host: Sydney Skybetter Co-Host & Executive Producer: Ariane Michaud Archivist and Web Designer: Kate Gow Podcasting Consultant: Megan Hall Accessibility Consultant: Laurel Lawson Music: Kamala Sankaram Audio Production Consultant: Jim Moses Assistant Editor: Andrew Zukoski Student Associate: Rishika Kartik

About CRCI The Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces (CRCI) explores the braid of choreography, computation and surveillance through an interdisciplinary lens. Find out more at www.choreographicinterfaces.org

Brown University's Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies' Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces thanks the Marshall Woods Lectureships Foundation of Fine Arts, the Brown Arts Institute, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their generous support of this project.

The Brown Arts Institute and the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies are part of the Perelman Arts District.