Researcher Os Keys and experimental musician Tamara Duplantis gives talks discussing the complicated relationships between gender and technology. Keyes, a researcher and writer at the University of Washington studying gender, technology and (counter)power, will parallel the development of facial recognition systems for gender with the history of attempts to identify and classify trans people. Duplantis, a computational media artist, experimental musician, and homebrew Game Boy developer, discusses queer expression through abstract systems and music.

This event is part of Digital Alchemy, a series of performances and discussions exploring the intertwined intellectual and ideological histories of art and technology. For admission to the full series, become a member and pick up the Digital Alchemy All-Access Pass.

Os Keyes: “Benjamin’s Ghost: Gender, AI and the Twisting of Trans Lives”

Discussions of technology and gender usually focus on how gender shapes the design and use of technology—but less-discussed is the way that technology shapes our idea of what gender even is. In this talk, Os Keyes, a researcher and writer at the University of Washington studying gender, technology and (counter)power, will parallel the development of facial recognition systems for gender with the history of attempts to identify and classify trans people. In doing so, they will demonstrate the profound (and violent) threat that AI systems—even those which claim to merely be “observing” or “measuring”—pose for individuals’, communities’, and societies’ understanding of the range of possible human lives.

Os Keyes is a researcher and writer at the University of Washington, where they study gender, technology and (counter)power. Their research has been published in the conferences on Computer-Supported Collaborative Work and Computer-Human Interaction; their essays and reporting has appeared in Scientific American, Real Life, Logic Magazine and Slate. They are an inaugural winner of the Ada Lovelace Fellowship.

Tamara Duplantis: “U ARE LOST: Queer Expression Through Abstract Systems”

Tamara Duplantis is a Louisiana-born computational media artist, experimental musician, homebrew Game Boy developer, and teacher of the arts. Under the name Tambalaya, she often travels through the countryside making music out of glitchy Game Boy cartridges and hand-me-down toy Casios. Her experimental chiptune improvisation game Atchafalaya Arcade has been installed at games festivals and art exhibitions across the globe. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Computational Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Digital Alchemy Talks at Design by Cosmic supported by Jean-Marc & Rebecca Jot.

Thank you to Design by Cosmic for hosting the Digital Alchemy Talks.