Beyond contemporary disclosures about mass surveillance by intelligence services, the promises inherent in “big data” determine discourses about future innovations and systems of classification in government and industry, which aim to increasingly transform political and systemic questions into those of technological management. The promises of participation and “digital democracy” stand in contrast to new forms of cybernetic control and modulation of social behaviour on an unprecedented scale. The countless sensors of ubiquitous digital and technological infrastructures have united the state, industry, body and technology into ever more complex “nervous systems.” This nervousness is revealed in particular where relationships of power and participation come to the fore, namely in the “social question.” The publication, which appears in conjunction with the exhibition Nervous Systems (Haus der Kulturen der Walt, Berlin, February-April 2016), assembles a combination of contemporary art – complemented by contributions by experts, theorists and researchers, presenting contextualized historical documents, artefacts and further objects. Published by Spector Books (Leipzig).
388 pages, 10.5 x 18 cm, softcover, Spector Books (Leipzig).