Memo Akten is a multi-disciplinary artist and computer scientist creating Speculative Simulations and Data Dramatizations investigating the intricacies of human-machine entanglements; perception; consciousness; Cosmosapience; and the harmonies and tensions between technology & ecology, science & spirituality, modernity & ritual, self & collective intelligence. For more than a decade he’s been working with Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and our Collective Consciousness as scraped by the Internet, to reflect on the human condition. Drawing connections between intelligence in machines, intelligence in nature, computer science, fundamental physics, biology, neuroscience and philosophy, his work is ultimately driven by a profound curiosity in the nature of reality, nature of life, and nature of the mind.
He creates algorithmic and data-driven moving images, sounds, and large-scale responsive installations and performances. He holds a PhD from Goldsmiths University of London, specializing in artistic and creative applications of Artificial Intelligence, and he is Assistant Professor of Computational Art at University of California San Diego.
Akten has received numerous awards including the prestigous Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica. His work has been widely exhibited and performed internationally at venues such as the Venice (Art) Biennale, The Grand Palais in Paris, The Royal Opera House in London, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai Ming Contemporary Art Museum and many others. He has presented his research at leading academic conferences such as NeurIPS and SIGGRAPH, and his PhD thesis was recognized by the leading art & science journal Leonardo for its ‘special relevance’.
He has collaborated with celebrities such as Lenny Kravitz, U2, Depeche Mode and Professor Richard Dawkins; as well as brands like Google, Apple, and Sony. Featured in major publications including Wired, The Guardian, and The Financial Times, his work is also included in books by Madeline Schwartzman, Arthur Miller, and Christiane Paul.
