On Thursday, 15 June 2023, AoIR held its third Flashpoint Symposium, and the first since the COVID-19 lockdowns. The symposium, Speculating at the End (?) of Times, was held in the remarkable Riot Studio in Naples, Italy, and was organized by Prof. Adam Arvidsson of the University of Naples Federico II. The day was beautifully sunny one minute, and extremely rainy the next, providing a surprising but also appropriate backdrop for a day with both pessimistic and optimistic takes on the current status quo and possible futures.
We were very lucky to have Leopoldina Fortunati as the event’s main keynote speaker and guest of honor. She spoke about bodies, gender, technology, social media, reproduction, life and death, and the potential for political activism in an alienated world full of screens. This set the tone for a day of theoretical talks and discussions about work, incarceration, love and robots. They continued into the evening over some finger-food and wine, as the rain finally departed.
If you would like to host a Flashpoint Symposium, please have a look at the guidelines, and write to us at prez at aoir dot org.
