From the curator

This year we will start the Przemiany Festival with a simple question: IS AI THINKING FOR YOU? We would like to examine what happens to our thinking when the artificial intelligence tools we use on a daily basis are not only capable of searching for information, but can also summarise and interpret it and offer ready-made conclusions. Where does assistance end and substitution begin? Will AI strengthen or impair our cognitive abilities? How should critical thinking, inquisitiveness and vigilance against falsehood be exercised?

Over three days of the festival, from 2 to 4 October, we will try to answer these questions in many different ways. At the “In algorithmic translation” exhibition, you’ will see, among others, how machines interpret human breath and check whether a robot can find a needle in a haystack. During the debates, we will discuss how to distinguish reliable content from deepfakes, and we will jointly put artificial intelligence on trial, with you acting as the jury. We have invited prominent experts to take part in the expert panels to discuss the impact of AI on our decisions and social behaviour, the future of medicine, and how art can help us practise critical thinking and remain vigilant against manipulation and the inflow of synthetic content.

And perhaps it is worth saying this plainly: we are all a little tired of the Silicon Valley fairy tales about AI as the solution to almost every problem. Therefore, during Przemiany, we are going against the tide and we are not putting on a tech fair. Instead of pursuing the latest version of language models or another new gadget, we suggest slowing down - taking it easy and with a sense of humour. So we will embroider our own prompts, make collages and work with wicker. Not because of nostalgia for the world before AI, but to recall that we also make sense of the world through action, touch, mindfulness and contact with other people. This year, Przemiany will above all provide an opportunity to meet and share reflections on how we think today in an increasingly technology-mediated world. Without ready solutions, but with space for conversation, doubts and our own conclusions.

See you soon!

Rafał Kosewski
Curator of the Przemiany Festival