Technology, Art and Alienation were discussed at ISTES 2024
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The second annual Human, Art and Technology Symposium (ISTES) held this year addressed the relationship between art, technology and alienation with the participation of academicians from different disciplines. The artificial intelligence manifesto was published for the first time this year at the symposium, which stood out with speeches on art, technology, individual alienation and the boundaries of consciousness.
The second annual Human Art and Technology Symposium (ISTES), organized by the Istanbul Ticaret University Faculty of Communication Visual Communication Design Department, was held at the Sütlüce Campus. The theme of the symposium held with the participation of academicians and students was “Techno-Art, Reality and Alienation”. The symposium, which addressed the effects of technology on art, consciousness and society, was held in four sessions. An exhibition consisting of photographs designed with artificial intelligence was also held at the symposium.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MANIFESTO
The artificial intelligence manifesto, elaborated for the first time this year, was published at the event. Speaking at the opening of ISTES, Head of Visual Communication Design Department and ISTES Symposium President Prof. Dr. Rıdvan Şentürk stated that the artificial intelligence manifesto emphasizes the importance of understanding the mind and historical process that produced it as the basis for understanding artificial intelligence. In his speech afterwards, artist Mr. Bager Akbay discussed the effects of technology on individuals and society, and underlined that innovations should be evaluated not only as tools but also within a framework that will provide social benefits. Mr. Akbay joined the discussions on artificial intelligence by asking the question, “How well do people know what to want from artificial intelligence?”
THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON ART
In the first session, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serdar Dardar, Prof. Dr. Merve Güven Özkerim and Research Assistant Ms. Özge Kalyoncu Fırat from Yıldız Technical University made a presentation on reshaping human expression and creativity at the intersection of art and technology. Discussing the impact of artificial intelligence on artists’ creative processes, speakers touched upon the effects of robot artists and optimization trends on the depth of artistic meaning.
DIGITAL DESIGN, SMART CITIES AND POST-DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The second session of the day was moderated by faculty member Dr. Emin Albayrak. The first speaker of the session, Research Assistant Ms. Sinem Ünal Gerdan from Yıldız Technical University, addressing the contribution of artificial intelligence-supported tools such as Adobe Firefly to the creative processes in typography and digital design in her speech titled “Artificial Intelligence Supported Typography: Reshaping Creativity in Digital Design with Adobe Firefly”, stated that such tools provide speed and efficiency, but human intervention is still important for original art production. The second speaker of the session, faculty member Dr. Hazal Şentürk at Fenerbahçe University, emphasized the importance of noise management in smart cities and presented examples of the use of artificial intelligence and sensor technologies in this field. The last speaker of the session, Research Assistant Ms. Gizem Arslan from Gebze Technical University, said in her speech titled “The Transformation of Cinematographic Space Narrative in Post-Digital Representation as a Simulacra Universe”, that in the post-digital age, architectural representation has gone beyond the copying of a physical space and has turned into a dynamic and cinematographic structure with which users interact.
SOCIAL NORMS, PUNISHMENT AND ALIENATION
In the second day sessions, the effects of technology on individuals were discussed from the perspective of law, the concept of punishment and alienation. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gökçe Çataloluk, Research Assistant Mr. Metehan Hepvar and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Derya Deniz gave speeches on the change of normative expectations in the digital age, the concept of individualized punishment and alienation from the perspective of forensic psychology. It was emphasized how the methods used for the integration of individuals into society, especially in criminal law, affect alienation.
LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The last session was moderated by Symposium President Prof. Dr. Rıdvan Şentürk. The first speaker of the session, faculty member Dr. Melike İlerisoy, discussed the effects of modern dating applications and social media on human relations in his presentation titled “The Changing Nature of Love and Relationships”. Faculty member Dr. İlerisoy drew attention to the fact that fast and temporary relationships are increasing, but the lack of trust and commitment in these relationships triggers loneliness. Subsequently, Dr. Erkut Tekeli, faculty member from Alpaslan Türkeş University, evaluated the simulation theory and digital physics approaches and scrutinized the profound effects of data and artificial intelligence on the perception of reality in his speech titled “Perception of Reality and Artificial Intelligence in the Context of Data”. Faculty member Dr. Tekeli emphasized that these perspectives can pave the way for significant research opportunities in the field of science and technology. Additionally, faculty member Dr. Zekeriya Kökrek discussed the relationship between artificial intelligence and the concepts of human psychology and alienation from a cybernetic perspective in his speech titled “Natural Intelligence with Artificial Appearance: Man’s Self and Knowledge”.
NERVOUS SYSTEM AND COGNITIVE EVOLUTION: A HUMAN DISTANCED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The closing speaker of the symposium, Prof. Dr. Numan Konuk, discussed the development of the nervous system as an analogy in terms of artificial intelligence and mental alienation. Prof. Dr. Konuk stated that artificial intelligence can lead to a completely different cognitive evolution by transforming the structure of emotions, impulses and thoughts in human consciousness.
Participants’ questions were answered in the question-answer session held at the end of the event and certificates of participation were sent digitally to their email addresses. The symposium’s proceedings book is planned to be published in 2025.
