The Beta festival, co-founded by The Digital Hub, is set to explore AI, immersive technologies, and ethical issues related to technology, including environmental impacts, Quantum Computing, and Art and data equity. The festival, supported by British Council Ireland, aims to increase tech literacy through panel discussions, exhibitions, and workshops. It will feature the ‘Potato Internet’, a small-scale social network created by Caroline Sinders and Trammell Hudson, and ‘Ent-‘, an immersive experience using quantum computing by UK artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney. The festival will also provide opportunities for digital artists and researchers in Ireland.
Introduction to the Beta Festival
The Beta Festival, supported by British Council Ireland, is a unique event that critically examines the impact of technology on society. The festival combines creativity, debate, and experimentation to engage the public with new technologies and the ethical issues they present. The festival takes advantage of Ireland’s position as a central hub in the digital world, showcasing the country’s research and artistic communities.
Aims and Objectives of the Beta Festival
The Beta Festival aims to create an international platform and network for digital artists and researchers based in Ireland. It offers opportunities for commissioning, upskilling, residency, and mentorship, fostering a creative pipeline and facilitating industry collaboration. The festival explores a range of topics, including artificial intelligence and creativity, immersive technologies, and big ethical questions. These questions cover a variety of areas, from the environmental impacts of our networked society and data equity to web 3, the third quantum revolution, and the metaverse.
The Role of The Digital Hub in the Beta Festival
The Digital Hub, a co-founder of the event, aims to increase tech and digital literacy among the general public. This is achieved through a programme of panel discussions, exhibitions, screenings, and workshops. The British Council supports the UK aspect of this year’s festival.
UK Programme Highlights
One of the highlights of the UK programme is ‘Potato Internet’, an experimental small-scale social network created by Caroline Sinders and Trammell Hudson. This project envisions the internet in times of climate emergency and the global energy crisis. The small scale of ‘Potato Internet’ allows the artists to build a functioning social network from scratch, rethinking all layers of the system, from hardware to protocols and governance.
Quantum Computing and Art
‘Ent-‘, a project by UK artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney, is the first immersive experience using quantum computing as both medium and subject matter. The 360˚ projection ‘Ent-‘ takes audiences through three earthly layers of quantum experiments containing quantum hybrid lifeforms and pulsating liquid worlds filled with fantastical creatures zipping in and out of dimensions. This new presentation of ‘Ent-‘ pushes the rhetoric surrounding the use of quantum technologies and all it encompasses forward to a more critical space of enquiry and parody.
Potato Internet is an experimental small-scale social network, created by Caroline Sinders and Trammell Hudson to envision the internet in times of climate emergency and the global energy crisis. When imagining alternatives for today’s toxic and extractivist online world, the common criticism often comes down to: ‘but they don’t scale up’. But what if the future of the internet is all about scaling down? In Potato Internet, the small scale allows the artists to build a functioning social network from scratch, rethinking all layers of the system, from hardware to protocols and governance.
Summary
The Beta festival in Ireland, supported by British Council Ireland, aims to critically engage with the impact of technology on society through creativity, debate, and experimentation, focusing on AI, immersive technologies, and ethical issues such as the environmental impacts of networked society and data equity. The festival will feature experimental works like ‘Potato Internet’, a small-scale social network envisioning the internet during climate crisis, and ‘Ent-‘, an immersive experience using quantum computing as both medium and subject matter, created by UK artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney.
- The first iteration of the Beta festival, supported by British Council Ireland, aims to critically engage with technology’s impact on society through creativity, debate, and experimentation.
- The festival will highlight Ireland’s research and artistic communities, allowing the public to engage with new technologies and explore ethical issues.
- It will also provide a platform for digital artists and researchers in Ireland, offering opportunities for commissioning, upskilling, residency, and mentorship.
- The festival will explore topics such as AI and creativity, immersive technologies, environmental impacts of our networked society, data equity, web 3, the third quantum revolution, and the metaverse.
- The Digital Hub co-founded the event, which aims to increase tech and digital literacy in the general public.
- The UK programme includes ‘Potato Internet’ by Caroline Sinders and Trammell Hudson, an experimental small-scale social network created to envision the internet in times of climate emergency and global energy crisis.
- ‘Ent-‘, by UK artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney, is the first immersive experience using quantum computing as both medium and subject matter, pushing the rhetoric surrounding the use of quantum technologies forward to a more critical space of enquiry and parody.
