Laughing with Machines

PhD Seminar Series, 11 October 2023

How does laughter mediate our interaction with digital technologies and the experiences these enable? This workshop with guest speaker Dr Chris Müller (Macquarie University, Australia) aims to explore the forms and functions of laughter and the way tech companies and users seek to harness its power. It will start with the simple question “What is laughter” and then lead onto a set of activities and discussions to explore how laughter interfaces with machines.

Background reading: https://theconversation.com/the-jokes-on-us-how-big-tech-is-replicating-our-laughter-online-206191 

Chris Müller is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies & Media at the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature (MCCALL), Macquarie University, Sydney.

Recent publications

Apocalypse Blindness, Climate Trauma and the Politics of Future Oriented AffectAngelaki 28(4)

Calypso Cave: Instagram vs Reality MAST: Journal of Media Art Study and Theory 4(1)

Palgrave Handbook of Critical Posthumanism (co-editor; living reference work)