Calculating Empires

• Calculating Empires is a large-scale research visualization project and exhibition that explores the interconnected history of technology and power from 1500 to the present day

• Created by researcher-artists Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler, it aims to contextualise current developments in Artificial Intelligence by examining how technology and power structures have co-evolved over five centuries

• The centerpiece of the exhibition is the Calculating Empires Map Room, which features two massive 12-meter long maps.
• One map focuses on communication and computation, covering the evolution of communication devices, interfaces, data practices, and computational architectures.
• The other map explores control and classification, examining how technologies have been integrated into social systems of Digital Society Surveillance , Education and AI , colonialism, Cyber Security and Military
• It starts in the 1500s, examining pivotal developments like the Gutenberg printing press and new maritime trade routes that expanded European Politics, Law, Privacy
• It takes a long-term view to reveal recurring patterns in how technology and power structures have developed over centuries.
• The visual style is inspired by sources like Aby Warburg’s “Atlas” project, using evocative imagery to trace historical evolutions.
• It aims to provide critical perspective on current AI developments by placing them in a broader historical context of technological power.
• The exhibition also includes a recreation of the creators’ earlier work “Anatomy of an AI System”.