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Computer Séance

Computer Séance

By: Computer Seance Podcast
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What can popular culture teach us about the technologies that are reshaping our lives?

Each week in Computer Séance hosts Justin Ben and Tracie dissect a pop culture artefact that features an intelligent machine and explores how it compares with developments in AI today.

Presented by queer studies expert Dr R Justin Hunt and Social Justice and AI expert Dr Tracie Farrell - both from the UK's Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute. And design expert Dr B Sweeting.

From cult science fiction to blockbuster movies, Computer Séance brings together media criticism, cultural theory, queer perspectives, and technological curiosity. Along the way, we examine virtual worlds, digital identities, automation, surveillance and the changing boundaries between human and machine.

Computer Séance is for listeners who enjoy thinking seriously about popular culture and the technologies that shape contemporary life.

Series 1 out now.

Linktree:https://linktr.ee/computerseance


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Episodes
  • How to Teach a Machine Not to Kill Us: WarGames and Artificial Intelligence

    How to Teach a Machine Not to Kill Us: WarGames and Artificial Intelligence
    Jul 29 2026
    Can an artificial intelligence learn the value of human life?In this episode of Computer Séance, Tracie, Ben and Justin revisit the 1983 Cold War classic WarGames, a film that imagined many of today's biggest AI questions decades before ChatGPT.Your hosts explore the film through the lenses of artificial intelligence, hacking, nuclear deterrence, automation, game theory, and Cold War politics. We discuss how WarGames predicted debates about AI safety, autonomous weapons, machine decision-making, and the risks of trusting intelligent systems with human lives.Show Notes:About Wargames (1983)Director: John BadhamWriters: Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. ParkesProduction: United Artists & Sherwood ProductionsReferences:Watch Wargames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bymdsSvLfJY Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUsLAAZuhU&pp=ygURd2FyZ2FtZWVzIHRyYWlsZXI%3D WIKI- https://tinyurl.com/4w5hm528IMDB- https://tinyurl.com/4hf2mty9Rotten Tomatoes - https://tinyurl.com/yfmzr72cAI and weapon systems: https://aiwar.cloud/ Human in the loop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-in-the-loop Cory Doctorow: a) https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/05/pop-that-bubble/b) https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/22/the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai-by-cory-doctorow-review-the-real-price-of-artificial-intelligence Sam Altman: https://cybernews.com/ai-news/altman-ai-energy/ NORAD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NORADHackers (1995) film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_(film)Speech act theory:a) https://www.britannica.com/topic/speech-act-theoryb) https://archive.org/details/austin-how-to-do-things-with-wordsRobots in the war in Ukraine: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/04/fighting-robots-give-ukraine-hope-in-war-with-russiaLoitering munitions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loitering_munition“Shortening the kill chain”: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/03/iran-war-heralds-era-of-ai-powered-bombing-quicker-than-speed-of-thought Isreali “Gospel” AI targeting: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/the-gospel-how-israel-uses-ai-to-select-bombing-targets and https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/israel-defense-forces-use-ai-gaza-case-misplaced-purpose Game theory: https://www.britannica.com/science/game-theory Theatre of the oppressed:a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Oppressedb) https://www.plutobooks.com/product/theatre-of-the-oppressed/ Hyperreality: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/psychology/hyperrealityReliance on Automated Systems: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3579605 Vasconcelos, H., Jörke, M., Grunde-McLaughlin, M., Gerstenberg, T., Bernstein, M. S., & Krishna, R. (2023). Explanations can reduce overreliance on ai systems during decision-making. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 7(CSCW1), 1-38.Cognitive Impacts of LLMs: https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/ and https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10225785/3/Keane_Liu_v2_edit_1776961977_1_KY_clean.pdfFollow us: https://linktr.ee/computerseance What can popular culture teach us about the technologies that are reshaping our lives?Each week in Computer Séance presenters Justin, Tracie and Ben dissect a pop culture artefact that features an intelligent machine and explores how it compares with developments in AI today. More About Your Hosts!Dr R Justin Hunt is an artist and academic based in London; his work explores archives of queernessDr Tracie Farrell a Senior Research Fellow at the Open University, and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow examining the intersections between social justice and artificial intelligence.Dr Ben Sweeting is a university lecturer who teaches and learns about design.It is produced by Cat McShane. Sound mixing by Dan Bolger and original music by Rosa Brook. Graphic Design by Retno Larasati.Computer Séance is funded by a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant. All the opinions expressed in the program are the presenters' own and do not reflect the positions of our employers, or UKRI. Episodes may contain language that some listeners find offensive
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    37 mins
  • Virtuosity: The Birth of an AI Supervillain

    Virtuosity: The Birth of an AI Supervillain
    Jul 22 2026
    What happens when an AI trained on serial killers escapes into the real world? Join the Computer Séance team as they unpack Virtuosity, examining how its vision of artificial intelligence, policing, surveillance, virtual reality, and AI ethics feels surprisingly relevant in the age of ChatGPT, generative AI, and algorithmic decision-making.About Virtuosity (1995):Director: Brett LeonardWriter: Eric BerntStars: Denzel Washington, Kelly Lynch, Russell CroweReferences:Watch Virtuosity - https://tinyurl.com/3hjwcehtVirtuosity (1995) Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdYoDEh_L7M WIKI - https://tinyurl.com/2s3sp9stIMDB - https://tinyurl.com/ypeyzfwaRotten Tomatoes - https://tinyurl.com/ysbac3psOn ELIZA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZALiz Rosenfeld: https://www.lizrosenfeld.co/On AI sabotage: https://tinyurl.com/ye42s3rjJudith Butler, Bodies That Matter (1993) https://tinyurl.com/m4kswa4jJack Halberstam, Queer Art of Failure (2011) https://tinyurl.com/ysm9n6xaOn hauntology: https://tinyurl.com/52eh2rdmOn Artaud & Virtual Reality: https://tinyurl.com/5n6tyde8On the Imperial Archive by Thomas Richards: https://tinyurl.com/4zkka8h8The After AI Symposium: https://afteraisymposium.com/Link to Dr Mustafa Ali’s presentation “Apocalyptic AI Otherwise:” youtube.com/watch?v=V4AxoPjZNTY&feature=youtu.beOn technological progress and social progress: Griffin, G. W. (2026). Technological Progress≠ Social Progress. In Human Capital Supply Chain in the Age of AI: Workforce Transformation, Strategy, and the Future of Work (pp. 41-50). Berkeley, CA: Apress.On the female voice and AI:a) Tolmeijer, S., Zierau, N., Janson, A., Wahdatehagh, J. S., Leimeister, J. M. M., & Bernstein, A. (2021, May). Female by default?–exploring the effect of voice assistant gender and pitch on trait and trust attribution. In Extended abstracts of the 2021 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1-7).b) Sindoni, M. G. (2024). The femininization of AI-powered voice assistants: Personification, anthropomorphism and discourse ideologies. Discourse, Context & Media, 62, 100833. On the Palestine laboratory: Loewenstein, A. (2024). The Palestine laboratory: How Israel exports the technology of occupation around the world. Verso Books. On prison labour training AI in Finland: https://www.wired.com/story/prisoners-training-ai-finland/ Humans using Grok: https://www.superagent.sh/blog/grok-image-jailbreak and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzKcvFsXtwE AI and weapon systems: https://aiwar.cloud/ Follow us: https://linktr.ee/computerseance What can popular culture teach us about the technologies that are reshaping our lives?Each week in Computer Séance presenters Justin, Tracie and Ben dissect a pop culture artefact that features an intelligent machine and explores how it compares with developments in AI today. More About Your Hosts!Dr R Justin Hunt is an artist and academic based in London; his work explores archives of queernessDr Tracie Farrell a Senior Research Fellow at the Open University, and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow examining the intersections between social justice and artificial intelligence.Dr Ben Sweeting is a university lecturer who teaches and learns about design.It is produced by Cat McShane. Sound mixing by Dan Bolger and original music by Rosa Brook. Graphic Design by Retno Larasati.Computer Séance is funded by a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant. All the opinions expressed in the program are the presenters' own and do not reflect the positions of our employers, or UKRI. Episodes may contain language that some listeners find offensive
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    50 mins
  • Can AI Love? I Am Mother, Artificial Intelligence & Human Care

    Can AI Love? I Am Mother, Artificial Intelligence & Human Care
    Jul 15 2026
    Can a machine truly love—or is AI care always a form of control? Join the Computer Séance team as they explore I Am Mother through the lenses of artificial intelligence, feminism, philosophy, and science fiction, asking what this unsettling film reveals about the future of humanity and the technologies we're building today.About I Am Mother (2019):Director: Grant SputoreStory: Grant Sputore & Michael Lloyd GreenIMDB WIKIRotten TomatoesReferences:Watch I Am Mother (Netflix) - https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80227090 I Am Mother (2019) Official Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5BKctcZxrM On the robotics of I am Mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBpBXf8GIp8 BTS of I Am Mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbLllRUjS_E On the necropolitical: https://www.dukeupress.edu/necropoliticsOn the biopolitical: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/23884/the-history-of-sexuality-1-by-michel-foucault-trans-robert-hurley/9780241385982On expert systems:a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_systemb) https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19820022023/downloads/19820022023.pdfOn Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey: http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0095.htmlOn Natalism: a) Hughes, J. (2025). Are Children The Future? Longtermism, Epistemic Discounting, and Pronatalism. Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies, 35(2), 1-10. b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iiB4IbVaw&t=4sOn Affective Computing: Tao, J., & Tan, T. (2005, October). Affective computing: A review. In International Conference on Affective computing and intelligent interaction (pp. 981-995). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.AI voices & huuman stutters: https://aimpower.org/2025/12/22/our-aies-2025-best-paper-award-community-centered-ai-data-governance-for-stuttered-speech/ Crash Course on Bentham and Utilitarianism: https://youtu.be/-a739VjqdSI?si=koscMs06PtXzJPvrCrash Course on Kant: https://youtu.be/8bIys6JoEDw?si=RCf2-gSE7FJVGUZhOn reproductive futurism: https://www.frieze.com/article/reproductive-futurism-and-politics-death-driveAbout Jocelyn Burnham’s work: https://www.aiforculture.com/On Moxie, the companion AI robot for children: https://fuseproject.com/news/introducing-moxie-the-first-ever-animate-companion/On the female voice and AI:a) Tolmeijer, S., Zierau, N., Janson, A., Wahdatehagh, J. S., Leimeister, J. M. M., & Bernstein, A. (2021, May). Female by default?–exploring the effect of voice assistant gender and pitch on trait and trust attribution. In Extended abstracts of the 2021 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1-7). b) Sindoni, M. G. (2024). The femininization of AI-powered voice assistants: Personification, anthropomorphism and discourse ideologies. Discourse, Context & Media, 62, 100833. The emotion machine (Minksy): Minsky, M. (2007). The emotion machine: Commonsense thinking, artificial intelligence, and the future of the human mind. Simon and Schuster.On Neurolink: The Neuralink project has continued since early pilots were discontinued. It received FDA approval in 2023:a) https://www.reuters.com/science/elon-musks-neuralink-gets-us-fda-approval-human-clinical-study-brain-implants-2023-05-25/b) https://knowingneurons.com/abandoned_neurotech/Follow us: https://linktr.ee/computerseance Computer Séance is funded by a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship grant Hosts: Dr Tracie Farrell, Dr R Justin Hunt, RB Sweeting Producer: Cat McShaneSound Mixing: Dan BolgerOriginal Music: Rosa BrookDesign: Retno Larasati Disclaimer: All the opinions expressed in the program are the presenter’s own and do not reflect the positions of our employers, or UKRI. What can popular culture teach us about the technologies that are reshaping our lives?Each week in Computer Séance presenters Justin, Tracie and Ben dissect a pop culture artefact that features an intelligent machine and explores how it compares with developments in AI today. More About Your Hosts!Dr R Justin Hunt is an artist and academic based in London; his work explores archives of queernessDr Tracie Farrell a Senior Research Fellow at the Open University, and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow examining the intersections between social justice and artificial intelligence.Dr Ben Sweeting is a university lecturer who teaches and learns about design.It is produced by Cat McShane. Sound mixing by Dan Bolger and original music by Rosa Brook. Graphic Design by Retno Larasati.Computer Séance is funded by a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant. All the opinions expressed in the program are the presenters' own and do not reflect the positions of our employers, or UKRI. Episodes may contain language that some listeners find offensive
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
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