What Can Artists and Culture Workers Do About Cognitive Liberty?
— Offer distant early warnings?!. . . thank you to everyone who joined us on Friday, in person and virtually, for a one-of-a-kind symposium that could have happened nowhere but at Gray Area, a forefront of culture in the center of technological innovation. The theme at the heart of our discussion is indeed one of the major gray areas we face at the present stage of technological, cultural, and socio-political development.
Our conversation centered on neuroprivacy: the freedom from having one's nervous system, including one's thoughts, monitored. But that is only one dimension of cognitive liberty. The other is autonomy in choosing medications and treatments that support personal well-being and quality of life. Given the rapid expansion of surveillance mechanisms, the weaponization of technological tools against ordinary people, and the near-total absence of protective legislation, a macro-level focus felt most urgent. That said, questions of mental health and "biohacking" are undeniably worth exploring in connection with the development of BCIs and pharmaceuticals with neurostimulative effects. There is still a long way to go.
By bringing together Amy Karle, Barbara Nerness, Gary Wolf (Quantified Self), Kim Old (
@emotiv ), Rhonda Holberton, and Jaron Lanier, we sought to coalesce the perspectives of artists working with neurotechnology, BCI designers, adopters of self-quantification practices, and thinkers examining the impact of modern technology on society and culture. This is an inherently transdisciplinary conversation — one that demands diverse expertise, ongoing dialogue, and genuine collaboration. The feedback from the audience reassured us in the timeliness of this discussion, and we hope to come up with more in the near future.
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Only with the support of Barry Threw (
@barrythrew ), Wade Wallerstein (
@habitualtruant ), Victoire Poumadere (
@vyktwarh ), this major conversation could have happened.
