equalACT: Sensing Humans and Learning Machines

ANDREA PARKINS, GODA KLUMBYTĖ & DANIELA ROSNER.

What does it mean to ‘understand’ technology? Is it about knowing how it is made and how it works? Is it about acquiring the skills to build it yourself? Or can people also describe far more implicit, intuitive and physically grounded experiences as ‘understanding’ technology? When people learn to ride a bike – do they understand bikes, or do they simply ‘know’ how to do it?

‘Machine learning’ using artificial neural networks is one of the core technologies for AI systems and is often described as a ‘black box’ that defies understanding. With a healthy dose of DIY enthusiasm, participants in this session will attempt to dissect the algorithm: they will open its ‘skull’, examine its neurons, observe how its synapses fire, how it is trained and how information flows through it. They will then put it back together again – a sort of taxidermy.

They will also question what ‘understanding’ actually means. Is understanding synonymous with knowledge? Or is understanding a subset of knowledge? I propose examining the types of knowledge that arise in relation to another (whether human or otherwise) – as well as the political history of transparency. Daniela Rosner and Goda Klumbyte have accompanied them on this intellectual journey; together, they have explored the concept of ‘feeling’ as a form of knowledge – and examined how this shapes our relationship with technology (as part of the ‘feeling AI’ research project). They will join the session via video link to share their thoughts and engage in a joint discussion.

Andrea Parkins, a musician and artistic researcher in the field of experimental and improvised music, has agreed to play on my ‘prepared’ technology – an instrument called ‘feltAI’. ‘feltAI’ is not merely the result of the ‘feelingAI’ research, but a process of artistic research in itself. Andrea performs and embodies the algorithm’s feelings and knowledge. No further description is needed. We listen – and feel.

PART 1: Artistic presentation & workshop / 10.00 – 13.15

Mika presents her artistic practice and approaches, followed by a workshop that explores how machine learning works from a DIY perspective. After a theoretical introduction, participants will build a simple e-textile sensor and gain hands-on experience of how a machine-learning system is trained to classify and categorise information.

PART 2: Guest performance, talk, discussion / 2.15 pm – 5.00 pm

‘Feeling AI’ is an artistic research project that Mika carried out in collaboration with Daniela Rosner and Goda Klumbyte. As a result of this collaboration, Mika developed ‘feltAI’ – an instrument based on felt. Andrea Parkins has been invited to perform with ‘feltAI’ and share her impressions from a musician’s perspective. Daniela and Goda will join Mika via video link for a discussion to share their views on current technological developments from the perspective of feminist STS (Science and Technology Studies).

Please register by emailing equalACT@hfs-berlin.de. When doing so, please indicate whether you would like to attend the first, the second or both sessions.

MIKA SATOMI is an artist, designer and lecturer; she works in the fields of e-textiles, interaction design and physical computing. Her work explores how we relate to technology and what we actually expect from it. She often collaborates with musicians and performers, for whom she develops technologically enhanced costumes and interactive systems. Since 2006, she has formed the artist collective KOBAKANT together with Hannah Perner-Wilson, which realises projects in the fields of e-textiles and ‘wearable technology art’. She is co-author of the online e-textile database ‘How To Get What You Want’. She currently lives and works in Berlin.

Guests:

ANDREA PARKINS is a sound artist, composer, electroacoustic musician and researcher. She works with a wide range of sonic materials: amplified objects, electronic feedback, software and hardware she has developed herself, as well as electronic and acoustic instruments. Her research explores connections and shifts between body, material, sound, place and space. Parkins’ projects encompass composition and performance, site-specific sound art and intermedia installations, as well as scores for contemporary dance, experimental film and intermedia performances. Her works have been presented at venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Experimental Intermedia (NYC), the Nordic Biennale of Contemporary Art, NEXT (Bratislava) and Akousma (Montreal). Parkins holds a PhD in ‘Artistic Research’ from the Norwegian Academy of Music and is a fellow of the ‘Berlin Support Programme for Artistic Research’ for the period 2022–23.

GODA KLUMBYTĖ is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human–Machine Interfaces (Human–Computer Interaction Section) at the University of Salzburg. Her most recent publications include the monograph *Feminist Machine Learning: Towards New Materialist Informatics’ (Bristol University Press, 2026), as well as the edited volumes ‘Posthuman Convergences: Transdisciplinary Methods and Practices’ (Edinburgh University Press, 2025) and ‘More Posthuman Glossary’ (Bloomsbury, 2022) – the latter co-edited with Rosi Braidotti and Emily Jones.

DANIELA ROSNER is a professor in the Department of Human-Centred Design and Engineering (HCDE) and the Department of Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXArts) at the University of Washington. She also holds associate professorships in the Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) and at the Allen School for Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). Furthermore, she is an associate member of the Einstein Centre for Digital Futures in Berlin. Her work lies at the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS), design practice and performance, with a focus on the material histories and the often invisible labour involved in computer technology. Further information: equalACT project page

ARTISTIC RESEARCH – make it feminist! equalACT is a joint project of the HfS Ernst Busch and the UdK Berlin, funded by the Berlin Equal Opportunities Programme (BCP). equalACT supports women as well as trans*, inter* and non-binary (tin*) people who combine the themes of gender, diversity and anti-discrimination with artistic research.