Disinformation by Design: Art in the Age of Weaponized Data

Join Guest Artist Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky) and Professor Timothy Snyder for a discussion about art, politics, and war.
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has highlighted issues that linger over the global discourse around post-colonialism, the hydrocarbon economy, art, and the weaponization of data. These have unfolded in an era that has fundamentally pivoted from the 20th-century obsession with grand narrative to a radical, new politics of perception fostered by the rapid adoption and innovation of digital technologies.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union used art as ammunition throughout the 20th century — including Duke Ellington’s jazz, Jackson Pollack’s expressionist works that were sponsored by the CIA, Soviet Realist paintings, and the use of highly edited photographs to erase Stalin’s political opponents. In this discussion, Miller and Professor Snyder will focus on the role that technology and propaganda plays in the context of the current invasion, from social media to deepfakes, from ransomware to Fox News.
Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. Timothy Snyder is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.