Event overview
This talk ends by considering notions of the contemporary human condition, or more so what to do with and about the fanatic discipline of technical engineering, at the hands of which we find ourselves stuck within the problem of a techno-humanist society led by Silicon elites, and the general misunderstanding of the role of technique within the current neotenic development of the human species. That is to say, my exploration emerges out of the urgency to place a new frame of meaning onto the exchange between solutionism, engineering, and environment, as presently situated within a world given to us as phenomena to experience rather than dominate. I argue that an awareness of this mode of existence must be thought through at the level of the vital in understanding the association between the technical milieu and practices of socio-technical manipulation and control. Here, I question how technicism plays a central role in culture-specific individual psychic and collective realities, and how these realities seek to compensate for the alienating results of techno-social being. Our discussion, nonetheless, begins with the story of a prince, a slave ship, and a Portuguese book seller before moving through a historical view of the engineer as ceremonial being and catalyst of new world orders.
Dr. Ramon Amaro is Senior Researcher for Digital Culture and Lead Curator at -1, an experimental testing ground for new tools, methods and public uses of digital culture at Nieuwe Instituut, the national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture in The Netherlands. His writings, research and artistic practice emerge at the intersections of Black Study, digital culture, psychosocial study, and the critique of computational reason. Ramon holds a BSe in Mechanical Engineering, an MA in Sociology and a PhD in Philosophy of Technology. Before joining Nieuwe Instituut, Ramon worked as Lecturer in Art and Visual Cultures of the Global South at UCL , Lecturer in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, Engineering Program Manager at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Quality Design Engineer at General Motors Corporation. His recent book, The Black Technical Object: On Machine Learning and the Aspiration of Black Being contemplates the abstruse nature of programming and mathematics, and the deep incursion of racial hierarchy, to inspire alternative approaches to contemporary algorithmic practice.
Image: Grazioso Benincasa, Galley and Portuguese caravel, detail from the Nautical chart of the Mediterranean, 1482
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Mar 2025 | 5:00pm - 7:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
