Keynote Lecture: 'Gestures of silence in digital infrastructures' by Taina Bucher
The Turing test was designed to determine whether a machine had reached human-like intelligence. If a human could converse — 'chat' — with a machine for five minutes without seeing through its mechanical nature, the machine would pass the test. In this ADDA 5 keynote lecture, Taina Bucher critically discusses the idea that the presence of talk and conversation are the ways in which humans judge artificial intelligence, and asks whether it might be more appropriate to see communicative silence as a true marker of human-like intelligence.
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At the heart of democratic theory lies a fundamental belief in the power of speech as essential to democratic engagement. This presentation shifts the focus from active participation and vocal citizenship to explore the critical role of silence within the context of digital infrastructures. In a landscape increasingly dominated by algorithms and platformed interfaces, the act of silence—often overlooked—offers a compelling alternative for understanding the boundaries and limits of democracy. This talk examines how silence interacts with and is shaped by the very digital environments designed to quantify all forms of interaction, including the silent gestures of skipping, scrolling, and hesitating. By investigating the affirmative potentials of silence in a society that prioritizes voice and speech, this talk examines how digital infrastructures impact and are impacted by silence, understood as a fundamental aspect of discourse.
