“Philosophizing,” argued the existential philosopher, Karl Jaspers (1932) “starts with our situation”. This lecture introduces key concepts, frameworks and figurations in existential media studies by setting out from a moment of interrelated crises in which advanced technologies such as “AI” (artificial intelligence) are hailed as the inevitable solution to all of humanity’s problems. In the digital limit situation (Lagerkvist 2020, 2022)—as the technology is entrusted to be salvaging us or feared to outperform and render us extinct—“the self” is simultaneously encroached from all sides. In a curious way, new “subjects” are meanwhile envisioned to be born inside the models. This raises a series of pressing questions: What conceptions of the self are actually being forged within this powerful socio-technical imaginary? What norms for being human in the world do advanced technologies bring about, challenge or reactivate? And how can we envision selves and technologies relationally as well as within limits, for promoting an existentially sustainable future with machines? About Amanda LagerkvistAmanda Lagerkvist is Professor of media and communication studies, PI of the Uppsala Hub for Digital Existence and guest researcher at the Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Religion and Society (CRS) at Uppsala University. She has been appointed Core Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Study, The University of Helsinki, for the academic year of 2025-2026. As Wallenberg Academy Fellow (2014-2018) she founded the young field of existential media studies. Her work has spanned the existential dimensions of digital memories, death online and lifeworlds of biometrics. She currently explores intersections of datafication, disability and selfhood; and the ambivalent AI imaginary and its relationship to both futures and endings (with funding from the Bank of Sweden and WASP-HS). In her monograph Existential Media: A Media Theory of the Limit Situation (OUP, 2022) she introduces Karl Jaspers’ existential philosophy of limit situations for media theory. She is the co-editor of Relational Technologies: In Search of the Self Across Datafied Lifeworlds with Dr. Jacek Smolicki (Bloomsbury, Thinking/Media Series) and she is currently under contract for her new monograph Dismedia: Technologies of the Extraordinary Self with The University of Michigan Press.VenueThe DIAS Auditorium, SDU Campus OdenseThis event is open for all. No registration needed.
Moritz Simon Geist is a German artist and robotics engineer, well-known for his wildly viral videos like the "Popcorn Jazz Robot" and the giant drum robot "MR-808.”With a background in electrical engineering and a passion for hands-on sound creation, Geist's work is driven by a desire to interact physically with music. His robotic instruments are crafted using advanced technologies such as 3D printing, CNC milling, and laser cutting and have been shown all around the world.In this talk, Geist will give insight into his art practice, share how he stopped working with human musicians and started working with music robots, and explain why AI music robots will not replace human musicians (soon).About Moritz Simon GeistMoritz Simon Geist is a music producer and researcher working with sound, robotics and algorithms. Beginning his academic career in semiconductor sciences as a PhD student, Geist made a career shift to focus on art and music, where he now merges sound with robotics and algorithms.His approach to electronic music, which involves creating sound through mechanical robots, has earned him international recognition.In 2012, Geist's first work, the "Drum Robot MR-808," went viral, and he has since explored the sound making and producing of electronic music with robots and mechanics as well as releasing many influential and viral works.Want to know more? Click HereVenueThe DIAS Auditorium, SDU Campus OdenseThis event is open for all. No registration needed
On Flying and Sonic Robots: Interacting Bodies and Sonic Atmospheres in Human-Robot InteractionThis talk examines human-robot interaction through a sociological lens, drawing on preliminary find-ings from a research project on the use of (autoomous) drones in the performing arts. It investigates what unfolds when drones become co-performers, turning the stage into a site of technoscientific ex-perimentation. The work of Moritz Geist with sonic robots offers a parallel exploration of robotic agency in musical contexts. Framed by the material turn in the humanities and social sciences, the talk addresses questions of (non)human agency. The presentation investigates how heterogeneous bodies—human and robotic—co-create space, sound, and experience in the performing arts and considers how artistic practices become laboratories for rethinking everyday encounters with autonomous systems.Matthias Wieser is Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. Trained in Sociology and Cultural Studies.Cyborg Identities: Living Machines and OthernessLiving machines in art and design extend to other forms of intelligence by mimicking, employing, and drawing attention to neglected companions. They also embrace new materialism and feminist posthumanist theories. These machines embody cyborg identities, which, as Haraway (1991) explains, 'do not dream of communities on the model of the organic family but rather encourage a plasticity of identity to highlight the socially imposed limitations'. They therefore contribute to the development of a posthuman coexistence.Fara Peluso is a bioartist, speculative designer and researcher. With a strong interest in Biology, she pursues a deep research on living organisms like microalgae, lichen and fungi, enquiring into their poetics and agency through a speculative design methodology.Entangled on Stage: The Robot as Performer, The Robot as PerformanceIn the intersection of art and technology, performing with robots presents a unique fascination, as the role of the performer is distributed between human and machine. This shared authorship and agency reflect a deeper, more intricate relationship—one that mirrors the evolving entanglements between humans and robots, humans and AI, and other life-simulating technologies in everyday life. Centering on the robot’s corporeality and the concept of techno-parenthood, the research explores the layered dynamics of these relationships and the collaborative artistic agency embedded in robotic media art performance, specifically highlighting impactful soft robotic performance.Andrea Tesanovic is a PhD researcher whose work emerges at the nexus of robotics, science fiction literature, media art and performance, and the sociology of life-like technologies. The Sounds of Softness: Robot Materialities, Imaginaries, and SoundIn this short talk, I will discuss elements of our work on the robot SONŌ. SONŌ began its life as a re-search prototype created to explore the potential of adding sound to soft robotics (robotics technolo-gies constructed from pliable and elastic materials). The work started from a simple and open ques-tion - what does a soft robot sound like? It branched off to involve a diverse set of activities including studying cultural sonic imaginaries, conducting empirical human-robot interaction studies, and developing an exhibited robotic artwork.Jonas Jørgensen is Associate Professor at the SDU Biorobotics (University of Southern Denmark) and co-director of the SDU Soft Robotics research laboratory www.jonasjoergensen.org.When and where:8 October 2025 from 13:00-16:00DIAS Seminar Room, SDU Odense
