Thoughtworks XConf 2018, was held for the first time in North America this year, in New York City this past July. I was honored to have been asked by Thoughtworks to present Dual Brains at this conference for digital technologists and industry professionals.
What a roster of experts who presented! And what an audience to present to! I spoke briefly about how Dual Brains is an artistic investigation of human neural interaction, using brain-computer-interface (BCI) technology to give empathy visual and audio expression.
The work is inspired by neuroscience studies that indicate human brains are hard wired for empathy, especially under conditions of duress in which holding hands can trigger stress reduction.
Watch the whole talk and performance here:
Or at Thoughtworks Youtube page.
The original speaker line-up had us presenting next to last. However, Thoughtworks hosts and organizers decided, while we were on standby backstage, that Dual Brains would be the closing event. We followed the last speaker who talked about the coding technique of “pair programming.”
One attendee tweeted their delight at the end of XConf : )
XConf was a terrific experience! Thank you, Thoughtworks, for the opportunity. I met some really insightful and fun technologists from around the world, with whom I had engaging conversations during the after-party held at a venue by the Hudson River. Topics ranged from how Dual Brains could perhaps become a social feedback mechanism, to left brain/right brain functioning in pair programming, to future consciousness of AI. Fascinating, this is what I call the real deal! Give me conversations like this ANYTIME 🙂
