The Oracle Machine: PRESENTATION Saturday January 20, 20.00 hrs / De Balie, Amsterdam

A N N O U N C E M E N T

The Oracle Machine

An installation for the façade of De Balie in Amsterdam.

“This is what we write, this is what we read;
this is how we deal with information today”

PRESENTATION: Saturday January 20, 20.00 hrs / De Balie, Amsterdam.
http://www.debalie.nl/media

Designer Jeroen Joosse devised an interactive installation for the façade De Balie, centre for culture and politics in Amsterdam. The Oracle Machine consists of a five screen window projection, which can be seen daily, starting from January 20th – after sunset – from the Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen and the Leidseplein on the windows De Balie.

The Oracle Machine displays a continuous stream of statements and opinions about social, political, and cultural issues. These texts do not originate from journalists, editors, writers and other specialists, but come directly out of the virtual public domain of tension between diversity and involvement, and brings the virtual and physical public spaces closer together. The automatic nature of retrieving texts from the internet, and the ‘bias’ used within this process – similar to the major search engines – confronts us with our information practices: this is what we write. this is what we read,this is how we deal with information today.

The inexorable stream of messages on the screens of the machine constitutes a reflection of what already for a long time is daily practice on the internet. The Oracle Machine stimulates, contributes to the formation of opinions, leaves us indifferent, irritates,provokes. And all this with the ‘voice of the community’.

Bring Your Issue!

The official presentation of the project is on Saturday January 20th at 20.00 hours. Richard Rogers, researcher and head of New Media at the University of Amsterdam, media theoretician Eric Kluitenberg and designer Jeroen Joosse will give comments and provide background to the project.

Subsequently, the Oracle Machine can be seen ‘live’ in action: also the audience will be allowed to give search terms (issues) to the Oracle to witness what is written on the internet at this particular moment about the issue at hand.

The Oracle Machine is realised with the support of Karel Brascamp (software development), and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.

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De Balie
Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10
Amsterdam
http://www.debalie.nl
http://www.debalie.nl/media