Institute of Human Obsolescence
Organisation, installations, interventions
IoHO
Organisation
The Institute of Human Obsolescence explores the future of labor and the changing relationship between humans and machine. It's work develops from a scenario in which forms of manual and intellectual labor traditionally performed by humans are increasingly automated by new technologies. In this context the IoHO investigates and challenges the socio-political and economic implications of new forms of labor.
Biological Labor
Installation
Machines are ousting us. As it happened some time ago to horses after the invention of the steam engine, humans are becoming obsolete to perform mechanical labor. Soon, with the advance of artificial intelligence, it will also affect our possibilities to be useful workers performing intellectual labor.
The IoHO researches the possibilities of how to cope with a labor market dominated by machines by developing new relationships between human and machine and new dynamics of creation of value in a post-work scenario.
Biological Labor
Installation
A single human body at rest radiates 100 watts of excess heat. Normally that energy is wasted. Using thermoelectric generators we convert the temperature differential between the human body and the ambient into usable electricity. The electricity generated is fed to a computer that produces cryptocurrency.
In order to maximize the amount of capital produced, instead of mining the currently most valuable cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) we mine recently created cryptocurrencies (Altcoins) that still hold a low value in the market, therefore having a potentially big space for growing in value.
Data Production Labor
Installation series
Despite seemingly moving towards a society without human work, we have started to perform new forms of invisible labor. Human-produced data is a resource already extracted by Big Tech, producing vast amounts of capital. This new role that humans have taken in society is obscured by promises imposed by Big Tech.
Why aren't we, the data workers, capitalising from it?
speculative.capital
Discussion series
The IoHO develops several projects exploring the production of data as a form of labor, as a different paradigm through which to interrogate and challenge dynamics of ownership over the production of data and the economic and governance objects emerging through it. Other lines of inquiry around the framework of Data Labor Rights are Data Basic Income, Data Cooperatives, Data Production Labor series, Investigative Discussion Sessions and Data Workers Union.
speculative.capital
Discussion series
Series of public discussions and intervention in the entry space of Stroom Den Haag, unpacking our work and research. The sessions host guests from different fields surrounding areas and themes related to our research.
Discussing the impacts of the automation of labor, the ownership and capitalization of data, new forms of organization emerging from the scenario of human obsolescence, and the future dynamics between human and machine.