The future of humanity is intertwined with artificial intelligence. They are all around us, choosing the information that flows to our path, our work routines and daily life, they are the mycelium networks that construct our digital jungle. In our collective imagination, they are right next to us, perhaps hovering above, like a gargoyle or dark angel, on the ledge of our consciousness. As speculative models of omnipotent, supreme beings, artificial intelligence are rich poetic devices. They give us a sense of what is possible while we struggle to define ourselves in relation to them. Will they replace us? Or perhaps save us from ourselves? In the age of man, where humanity is defined as a geological phenomenon, our measure of influence is gaining clarity as an ever growing dominant force which is violating the delicate balance that enables our survival on earth. 

Last year in Zero One festival we dived into the ideas behind intelligence, while sketching the ethereal edges of our knowledge of it. This year we will ask to think together about the tension in the term “artificial”, and in fact what is “natural”, when nature in its recognized form as a factor independent of man, has actually ceased to exist. In a series of creative expressions, vocal visions, conversations and performances we will surface the tension between the natural and the artificial and between the organic and the digital. We will try to offer a new point of view, which does not insist on a continuous dividing line between man, the nature around him and the algorithms he created. As our metaphors curve towards the amoral, to celebrate the beauty of systems, we could end up feeling more human, more rooted and more connected. Since time immemorial this has been the role of the ‘other’ – the artificial, the animal or the algorithmic.

Inspired by the article Towards a Poetics of Artificial Superintelligence by Nora N. Khan.

ZERO ONE is a Digital Arts Festival that straddles the intersection between art, technology, myths and magic. We strive to develop a language that makes it possible to imagine and establish the foundations of the emerging digital world. We employ artistic expression to examine both ancient knowledge systems and evolving ones and devise alternative propositions to infuse myths and concepts to reformulate our current digital poetics. To this end, we put the spotlight on digital creativity, and examine the history of the future through the tools of art, experience and research.

The Festival was founded in 2019 as a collaboration between the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem and the artistic directors Danielle Zini and Yair Moss. The festival featured A/V performances, media installations, lectures, conferences, workshops, and more with a variety of local and international artists.