1.2 Fast Rewind: Seek

Seek is an artwork that deals with the unpredictable nature of people (and non-human animals) and the inflexible nature of computers.

This topic is something that plagued scientists and computer users alike back in 1970 when this artwork was made but it's still a very important topic. Although steps have been made in the responsiveness of computers (think self-learning algorithms), a computer is yet to pass the Turing test.

Apart from the contrasting attributes that this work shows the viewer, it also shows the rigidity of computer systems and its need to create the world in one particular way. This gives this project a totalistic vibe. It makes the viewer think about how many parts of our lives are dictated by rigid computer programs and what that means for our freedom and civil rights. It would be interesting to investigate this idea further. If machines were less rigid would that mean more freedom for the user? And if computers were to be as flexible as humans, would that create more opportunities for us or for the computer to find a way to push their ideas through?