The ethics of technology is not a new topic. In Chinese thought, ethics refers to the relationship between man and man, man and nature, and rules of handling these relations. Chinese people formed human relations based on the principles of the life spent with family, and establish the cognitive system based on physics, reason, and justice. The dialectical relationship between "techniques" and "Tao" identified by Chinese philosophers is as same as the philosophical speculation between technology and ethics. The philosopher Chuang Tzu had been opposed to coerced movement or a "technical" imitation of nature, but praise highly on natural development. In the West, the physicist Richard Feynman pointed out that there are two types of driving forces for human beings to understand the world: either driven by concepts (epistemology) or driven by tools (science and technology). “If human discoveries were driven by ‘concepts,’ we tend to explain the old stuff from a new perspective; if it were driven by ‘tools,’ the old concepts would be used for explaining what we have created or discovered.”
Nowadays, with the rocketing development of emerging technologies, which continuously challenge and breaking through the critical point of ethics, it becomes increasingly urgent to address the topic - ethics of technology in the new context. The issues at hand include phenomena such as data privacy, data religion, data heritage, machine awakening, mind uploading, Cyborgs, genetic engineering, engineered genetic inequality, virtual reality and so on. Unfortunately, the current response systems of human beings nearly lose the efficacy on these issues. We have reasons to believe that these topics will no longer only remain within the domain of specialized philosophy, but will become universal topics for everyone. Not only do we need to consider the new, unprecedented ethical issues arose by future technologies, but also to review how existing technology in practical applications have led to a crisis of ethics. To reflect on the ethics of technology, and the development of science and technology and its meaning, it’s unavoidable to quote Zizek here: “ ‘ought’ in ethics is not the obstacle in the path of modern science, but a guide.”
As the 2016 Beijing Design Week thematic exhibition, the first Beijing Media Art Biennale (BMAB) will be held at the China Millennium Monument Art Museum and the CAFA Art Museum simultaneously. The Biennale is set up as a platform to promote international academic crossovers in art and technology, centered on the theme of Ethics of Technology, presenting artists working on the topics of science, big data, artificial intelligence, bio-genetics and mixed reality and other areas of interdisciplinary artistic experimentation. The platform also invites artists, designers, scientists, and theorists to discuss sensibility of technology applied in the society, and through in-depth discussion to generate new knowledge. It also aims to function as an incubator for the convergence of art and industry, setting up an innovation platform for international exchanges. The Biennale gathers creative talents from the areas of arts, design, film, games, internet, smart technology as well as entrepreneurial pioneers and technical experts to create an interdisciplinary lab. The Biennale will also make ample use of urban public screens to display various artworks and in this way, engaging the media art to a broader public space, setting off a cultural cross-boundary effect, and injecting the city with vitality and creativity.
The Beijing Media Art Biennale will be jointly launched with the B3 Biennial of Moving Image, BMAB + B3, which encompasses a series of art exhibitions, including the "Ethics of Technology" thematic exhibition, "Lab Space" special exhibition, urban public screen exhibition and an online hyperlink exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Xu Bing, Qiu Zhijie, Feng Mengbo, Gary Hill, Stelarc, Eduardo Kac, Stephen Vitiello, Jonathan Harris, Yves Netzhammer, Candice Breitz, Johan Knattrup Jensen, Mads Dambsbo and over 40 other artists, publishers, and designers. Works include but are not limited to: moving image, interactive installation, immersive art, bio-art, kinetic installation, audio-visual performance, internet art, sound art, mixed media and so on.
Beijing Media Art Biennale is co-hosted by Beijing Design Week, China Central Academy of Fine Arts and B3 Moving Image Biennial, School of Design of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the China Millennium Monument, the CAFA Art Museum, BFA-VR and the Moujiti Group.
Beijing Media Art Biennale
Collective Curators
2016/9/8
The ethics of technology is not a new topic. In Chinese thought, ethics refers to the relationship between man and man, man and nature, and rules of handling these relations. Chinese people formed human relations based on the principles of the life spent with family, and establish the cognitive system based on physics, reason, and justice. The dialectical relationship between "techniques" and "Tao" identified by Chinese philosophers is as same as the philosophical speculation between technology and ethics. The philosopher Chuang Tzu had been opposed to coerced movement or a "technical" imitation of nature, but praise highly on natural development. In the West, the physicist Richard Feynman pointed out that there are two types of driving forces for human beings to understand the world: either driven by concepts (epistemology) or driven by tools (science and technology). “If human discoveries were driven by ‘concepts,’ we tend to explain the old stuff from a new perspective; if it were driven by ‘tools,’ the old concepts would be used for explaining what we have created or discovered.”
Nowadays, with the rocketing development of emerging technologies, which continuously challenge and breaking through the critical point of ethics, it becomes increasingly urgent to address the topic - ethics of technology in the new context. The issues at hand include phenomena such as data privacy, data religion, data heritage, machine awakening, mind uploading, Cyborgs, genetic engineering, engineered genetic inequality, virtual reality and so on. Unfortunately, the current response systems of human beings nearly lose the efficacy on these issues. We have reasons to believe that these topics will no longer only remain within the domain of specialized philosophy, but will become universal topics for everyone. Not only do we need to consider the new, unprecedented ethical issues arose by future technologies, but also to review how existing technology in practical applications have led to a crisis of ethics. To reflect on the ethics of technology, and the development of science and technology and its meaning, it’s unavoidable to quote Zizek here: “ ‘ought’ in ethics is not the obstacle in the path of modern science, but a guide.”
As the 2016 Beijing Design Week thematic exhibition, the first Beijing Media Art Biennale (BMAB) will be held at the China Millennium Monument Art Museum and the CAFA Art Museum simultaneously. The Biennale is set up as a platform to promote international academic crossovers in art and technology, centered on the theme of Ethics of Technology, presenting artists working on the topics of science, big data, artificial intelligence, bio-genetics and mixed reality and other areas of interdisciplinary artistic experimentation. The platform also invites artists, designers, scientists, and theorists to discuss sensibility of technology applied in the society, and through in-depth discussion to generate new knowledge. It also aims to function as an incubator for the convergence of art and industry, setting up an innovation platform for international exchanges. The Biennale gathers creative talents from the areas of arts, design, film, games, internet, smart technology as well as entrepreneurial pioneers and technical experts to create an interdisciplinary lab. The Biennale will also make ample use of urban public screens to display various artworks and in this way, engaging the media art to a broader public space, setting off a cultural cross-boundary effect, and injecting the city with vitality and creativity.
The Beijing Media Art Biennale will be jointly launched with the B3 Biennial of Moving Image, BMAB + B3, which encompasses a series of art exhibitions, including the "Ethics of Technology" thematic exhibition, "Lab Space" special exhibition, urban public screen exhibition and an online hyperlink exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Xu Bing, Qiu Zhijie, Feng Mengbo, Gary Hill, Stelarc, Eduardo Kac, Stephen Vitiello, Jonathan Harris, Yves Netzhammer, Candice Breitz, Johan Knattrup Jensen, Mads Dambsbo and over 40 other artists, publishers, and designers. Works include but are not limited to: moving image, interactive installation, immersive art, bio-art, kinetic installation, audio-visual performance, internet art, sound art, mixed media and so on.
Beijing Media Art Biennale is co-hosted by Beijing Design Week, China Central Academy of Fine Arts and B3 Moving Image Biennial, School of Design of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the China Millennium Monument, the CAFA Art Museum, BFA-VR and the Moujiti Group.
Beijing Media Art Biennale
Collective Curators
2016/9/8
