Synthetic Pasts: digital necromancy and algorithmic afterlives

During this demo session, we will offer visitors a hands-on experience of our research into digital necromancy and algorithmic afterlives.

Synthetic Pasts is a project that investigates automated and algorithmic processes designed to change the structure and behaviour of images from the past, offering them new kinds of ‘afterlife’. Specifically, we explore how (images of) our deceased ancestors are remediated and ‘resurrected’ through generative AI.

Visitors will learn about our research and will have the chance to interact with the Synthetic Pasts website to reanimate archival material. In doing so, they will help us navigate the values that are embedded in the systems that produce synthetic images of our pasts and unpack the myriad ethical challenges they present. Synthetic Pasts explores what futures for image archives our algorithmic present anticipate and pave the way for. Help us work it out. 

The demonstration is being run by Dr Jenny Kidd and Dr Eva Nieto McAvoy.

Formerly a web editor and developer, Dr Jenny Kidd now researches at the intersection of digital heritage and participatory cultures at Cardiff University. Recent publications have explored; algorithmic systems and digital memory, crypto art and questions of value, social media communications, and varied uses of immersive media. Her work is generally collaborative and has included partnership with (for example) Historic Royal Palaces, Imperial War Museums, Tate Britain, Amgueddfa Cymru, yello brick and the Welsh Centre for International Affairs.

Dr Eva Nieto McAvoy is a researcher of digital media and culture, with a focus on the theories and practices of new and interactive media in cultural and memory work at the intersection of knowledge, power, and technology. She studies digital transformations in media and cultural ecosystems, with a focus on the entanglements of creative work with technologies as situated, everyday practices across borders, particularly within contexts of unequal power relations.

This demo is in-person. Registration is not required.

This demo is part of the King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence, running from Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 May 2024.