30 years future laboratory ZKM:Why share?

Thursday evening at »Open Codes«:  In the »Open Hub«, workshop participants build their own Google Cardboard glasses and embark on virtual laboratory tours and scientific expeditions.

Two members of Entropia e.V. embroider their T-shirts with a digital embroidery machine. Next door, an artist presenting a work in the exhibition talks about artificial neural networks and pattern recognition: there are algorithms that would make a tomato look even more like a tomato in order to enhance the features or »patterns« that facilitate image recognition. A group winding through the workstations takes part in an after-work tour. The »Open Codes« exhibition platform is reminiscent of a mixture of library, co-working space, café, lounge, maker space, hacker space, kitchen and living room.

»We want to share knowledge«, says Peter Weibel, artistic director of the ZKM | Karlsruhe. »The knowledge platform ›Open Codes. Living in Digital Worlds‹ is based on the idea of ›sharing‹. ›Open Codes‹ is deliberately designed as a platform that can be used freely by young people or families, artists or hackers, scientists or teachers. Any age group and any level of knowledge is welcome!« This makes »Open Codes« a place of learning and experience that invites people to participate and create new knowledge together. Meet-ups, science slams, lectures and workshops convey knowledge – and the more knowledge, the greater the doubt! This is also the task of the ZKM: to think critically about what it means when knowledge becomes a central resource in the digital world. What if the knowledge of algorithms and codes were mastered by a few? »Open Codes« sees itself as an alternative to the monopolisation of expert knowledge. Knowledge should be accessible to everyone – and in the best case, knowledge acquisition should even be rewarded, according to a thesis by Weibel.

Sharing, exchanging, renting, giving – the so-called »sharing« is becoming a current trend in many areas of our lives. It's not so much about owning, but about sharing. On July 4, 2018, the shareBW state congress at the ZKM will discuss how digitization and the share economy are connected. Keynotes, panels and best practices will shed light on various facets of the so-called »share economy«. The »share economy«, which uses modern information and communication technologies, is gaining more and more economic importance. Rankings of the most valuable start-ups worldwide (rated by venture capital companies) list sharing services such as »Uber« or »Airbnb« among the top performers. But in the meantime there are also voices against the commercialisation of the idea of »sharing«. The closing panel of the state congress will ask the crucial question: »In Share We Trust?« A culture of exchange and sharing does not necessarily lead to more social behaviour. However, if sharing leads to people meeting and gaining access to resources that they did not previously have, then the model of sharing could become a model for the future. »Open Codes« is such an example of »good sharing«: Here the visitors share far more than the joint visit to the exhibition, namely also new encounters, lively debates and perhaps also the one or other coffee.

reOPENing CODES

Nach der KAMUNA am 4. August verabschiedet sich »Open Codes« in die Sommerpause. Die Ausstellung ist ab 31. August wieder für alle geöffnet – allerdings in veränderter Form: Die Ausstellung wird um neue Werke ergänzt, die sich verstärkt mit künstlicher Intelligenz und maschinellem Lernen beschäftigen.

30 years future laboratory ZKM
In 2019 the ZKM | Karlsruhe celebrates its 30th anniversary. The ZKM was founded in 1989 to negotiate the future of the arts and media under one roof, in a so-called »center«. For 30 years now, the ZKM has been shaping the image of the present and shaping the future. In 2019 the ZKM will not only celebrate 30 years of ZKM, but the ZKM will also celebrate the future.

Open Codes
Until January 6, 2019 

ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
Lorenzstraße 19
76137 Karlsruhe, Germany
www.zkm.de