12/10/2026
On October 10th, Palazzo Diedo hosted a day of talks, lectures and performances exploring the shifting boundaries between human and artificial intelligence, artistic practice and emerging technologies.
From the monstrous nature of a world in transformation to the protocols that shape our understanding of art, identity and personhood, the programme explored how new technological systems challenge established ways of thinking and open up new possibilities.
🏛️ “Monstrous Liveness vs. Human Deadness”, a conversation between Venkatesh Rao and Simon Denny, explored the need to embrace and transform the monstrous aspects of the emerging world, creating a “New Nature” rather than retreating into a zombie humanism.
🏛️ “The Story of Protocol Art”, a conversation between New Models and Dean Kissick, traced a history of artistic dematerialisation, from Mallarmé and Duchamp to digital strategies and the emergence of Protocol Art within today’s nonlinear media ecosystem.
🏛️ “What is a Person?”, a lecture performance by Sarah Friend, examined subjectivity as a series of protocols, considering how the very conditions of personhood might evolve in response to emerging technologies.
🏛️ “STRIA”, a conversation with Holly Herndon followed by a sound performance by John Chowning, explored computer-generated music through an algorithmic system in which every sound is continuously recalculated and transformed.
🏛️ “AI and Theatre”, a lecture performance by Hito Steyerl, in collaboration with Marek Poliks, Roberto Alonso Trillo and Mark Waschke, investigated theatre as a method for training artificial intelligence, opening up new possibilities for dramaturgy and live arts.
Through these encounters, technology emerged not simply as a tool, but as a force reshaping how we create, perform and understand what it means to be human.
📍 Palazzo Diedo, Venice
🗓️ October 10th 2026
ProtocolArt
