On Wednesday 29 June 2011, we were joined by Dr Dan O'Hara for a live chat, 'Understanding the Virtual'. Dr O'Hara was one of the organisers of the original Virtual Futures conferences and now lectures in English and American Literature at the University of Cologne. The chat centred around the subject of JG Ballard, the evolution of technology and skeuomorphs.
World renowned artist Stelarc recently returned to the University of Warwick, 16 years after appearing at Virtual Futures 1995. In his talk he discussed his experiences past, present and future including his current 'Ear On Arm' project. What is Stelarc's motivation? How does he deal with pain? What does he intend to do next?
Steve Fuller, Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick recently spoke at Virtual Futures 2.0'11. Within his talk he discussed the ideas of transhumanism and posthumanism. He reflects on the past and explains the potential directions in which humanity may move. How will we move forward in our evolution at a time of ever improving technology?
Professor Andy Miah, Chair of Ethics and Emerging Technologies in the Faculty of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland, spoke recently at Virtual Futures 2011. Prof Miah worries that we are becoming too immersed in technology, adversely affecting our life outside it, but also believes the idea is that everyone is 'obsessed' with technology is false. Is the future virtual? Prof Miah shares his thoughts.
With themes of virtual reality and technological development being key to her science fiction writing, Pat Cadigan is all to familiar with our reliance on technology and our fear of missing out on the next big thing. Her talk at Virtual Futures took the form of a web browsing session, highlighting the changes that have occurred since the original conferences in the 90s.
Living technologies are sensitive to the environment around them, and could go some way to preventing the impact that some technology has on our environment. Here, Dr Rachel Armstrong, Senior TED fellow and speaker at Virtual Futures 2.0'11 explains more about her work in living technologies and its potential applications. Could further investigation and research in this area aid in protecting the Italian city of Venice from the elements?
Billed as ‘the Glastonbury rock festival of cyberculture,’ the only mud to be found at the Virtual Futures 2.0 conference, which took place last week at Warwick University, was made on campus mainframes.
We live in an age of rapid technological advancement, but what effect has this had on our cultural development? Mark Fisher's talk 'No Time' looks back on the original Virtual Futures conferences and draws conclusions on the ongoing cultural effects of technology.
Dr Richard Barbrook, senior lecturer in the Department of Politics and IR at the University of Westminster, recently visited Warwick to talk at Virtual Futures 2.0'11. Chris Baraniuk, recent graduate of English Language and Literature, attended the event. Here he reflects on Dr Barbrook's talk and discusses some of the key ideas.
Professor Sue Thomas, Research Professor of New Media at De Montfort University, recently spoke at Virtual Futures 2011. Prof Thomas' talk centred around her experiences of virtual spaces, particularly LambdaMOO. Here, Prof Thomas reflects on her first experiences of the virtual space, and how her understanding and experiences have changed in the 16 years since she first attended Virtual Futures.