The telephone booth, a symbol of accessible telephony. Now perhaps more associated with the Matrix and Dr. Who than telephony?
The speed of communication and information processing is changing our concepts of time and space, of past and future. How are technologies shaping the ways we sense, think and speak?
The amount of information can also make it harder to navigate the world. Artificial intelligence and advanced and changing algorithms are being developed to help us find our way. How does this affect us?
The exhibition can create engagement by raising questions about the future. How is the technological future depicted in literature, film, art and exhibitions? When will robots become more intelligent than us? Are cyborgs pure science fiction or already becoming a reality through the use of computer technology in implants and prosthetics? Here we can address questions related to technological developments in several areas of society.
The exhibition's time dimension is accompanied by a spatial perspective. Today's computer networks connect us to distant places. At the same time, new technology can be a challenge for national governments and interests.
For example, how could the economic system be affected by blockchain and cryptocurrency that are independent of banking and national borders?
Technology has made it easier to receive and send information across national borders. The objects, people and ideas in the exhibition will not only be Norwegian, but come from all over the world. Today we communicate across national borders and obtain information from the world wide web. In addition, technology helps to constitute different spaces – both virtual and physical. The spatial dimension thus has several meanings.
To begin developing ideas and techniques for such a programmable exhibition, we will establish a small experimental zone in the museum's LAB in spring 2020. It will be possible for museum visitors to see inside, and to come in and participate when we open the doors. Here we will place a small selection of historical artifacts, and begin the process of developing a computer system that will control the upcoming exhibition.
