Digital Divination

Digital Divination is a pedagogical practice between myself and artist & organizer, Erica Kermani. It has taken many forms over the years including: A graduate course taught at Parsons Design & Technology, a workshop at NYC Resistor, A class at the School for Poetic Computation, and a research compilation which can be found here.

In Digital Divination we challenge how western and capitalist hegemonies have shaped technology to serve systems of oppression and extraction. We instead draw from mystical practices of the global majority to speculate ways of building harmonious relationships between machines, humans and non-humans. We look at both ancient and historical precedents as well as contemporary artists to explore ways technological artifacts carry sacred value particularly in non-western and post-colonial contexts, and furthermore, how rituals themselves can be seen as forms of computation in their ability to transmit information and create and/or maintain networks. Participants synthesize discussions to then design their own oracles, thinking critically about intention, interpretation, and interaction. We use generative techniques and tools such as Markov Chains, ml5.js, and randomness to develop browser-based (p5.js) scrying tools.  No prior programming knowledge or experience required.